All Girl's Sasuke
by meevah
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Haku crossdresses to get into an all girl's school to find the man he used to love. Whom he meets, instead, is a boy named Uchiha Sasuke. But why is Sasuke the only other male student? And what is his silver ring's importance? BL
1. Haku chan

Intro: I do not own _Naruto_ nor its characters. ; And if I happen to mess them up, please do not be angry with me.... Oh, and I have no clue what Haku's last name is so... I made it Yukio. O.o; I heard it means 'snowy boy,' but I'm not too sure my self.... And please don't ask about Zabuza's little alias... o.o;;; I didn't know what else to make it without sounding so utterly obvious. (sigh) Please, enjoy and review.

**chapter**** 1 – **Haku-chan

-

"You are so lucky, dude."

"I know," replied the doe-eyed teen, still gazing softly at his accepted application form. He'd actually been allowed to get into the one private high school he'd been wanting, so despite his calm exterior, the male was actually quite ecstatic. "I still sort of can't believe they didn't ask for a physical, though...."

His friend beside him nodded. "Yeah, especially since it's an all-girl's school."

That was right. Yukio Haku's new high school, the one he'd been dreaming of getting into, was an all-girl's private school. The pristine, well-known, St. Ruto's School for Girls. Now, don't think it was so hard to get in. Considering Haku's looks, he was regularly mistaken for a girl, anyway. In his eyes, he might as well have put it to good use. Haku had soft, dark eyes and an odd, almost expressionless look on his face, only made seemingly more mysterious by his long, silky, raven hair.

"So that's why you've been growing out your hair?"

Haku nodded. "Of course. I want to look the part, don't I?" He suddenly checked his watch, eyes widening in rarely seen surprise. "Hey, I have to go now. My ride to the school leaves early, and I don't need to make any mistakes this early in the game." Haku picked up his form and stuffed it, neatly, into his bag, departing out the door. "I'll call you when I get there, okay?"

"You better!" called his friend, before Haku shut the door behind him. "Tell me if you meet any cute girls!"

As Haku left the apartment housing for his own, his mind ran back over all the details that lead up to his getting accepted. It had all started some odd number of months before, when Haku had received a letter from a friend of his, Haruno Sakura. She attended St. Ruto's, and had just wanted to tell him about their weird, new teacher, who went by the name Mochi-san, and was really strange, but sort of cool.

Like Sakura, Haku became interested in this, "Mochi-san," but unlike her, he was interested for different reasons. From Sakura's description of the man, he sounded suspiciously familiar. Familiar, as in alike to someone Haku had known a long time ago. And one he'd been searching for since. If the teen's hunch was right, the newest teacher at St. Ruto's was about to be paid a visit by the newest student.

This hunch was also the reason for Haku growing his hair out long. After all, he was so feminine-looking, the boy could easily pass for a girl even with short hair. However, the last time he'd seen the man he was searching for, Haku had long hair. He reasoned that perhaps Zabuza Momochi, as his pursuee was called back when Haku knew him, would actually be able to recognize him.

The male finally reached his apartment building, most of the structure's bricks tinted grey or black from years of constant rain and snow. Haku made his way through the quiet hallways, the only sounds being heard including his light footsteps and the occasional door opening and closing. Although Haku was only sixteen, he lived alone. Why? Well, the teen's parents died when he was just a kid, and after rejecting several foster homes, Haku was finally half-given up on and allowed to just live by himself.

It wasn't his fault all his foster families booted him out; the boy just wasn't very well-liked by most people. The reason was due to either jealousy, or fear. Girls envied his looks (Haku _was_, after all, sometimes stated to be cuter than most girls), and guys feared he held a sexual preference for those of the male gender. And so, Haku, aside from being alone family-wise, also couldn't make too many friends, despite him being one of the kindest people one could ever meet.

And now he was leaving the few friends he had for an all-girl's school, just to see if he could meet Zabuza once more. Perhaps he did hold a preference for boys, and perhaps he could easily get caught for false identity at St. Ruto's. Whatever it took, he'd see that man one more time.

Though, now that just made him sound like a stalker.

Haku sighed, after re-checking all his packed items. The male was going to be staying in a dorm room at the school for a while, and he was half-hoping he wouldn't be back for a long time (unless, of course, Zabuza decided to flee again...). Dark eyes glanced at a ticking clock in the corner of the room.

_'Almost eight...'_ He'd have to sleep soon, seeing as how the bus that could take him to the city the school was located at only arrived at 6:05 every other morning. Lying in bed, later in the night, Haku told himself not to worry about it. He'd get his goal... nothing to fret. And so, the teen succumbed to the slow-falling sleep that eventually came after his mind ran out of things to ponder over.

Generally meaning, Haku had a hard time staying awake long enough the next morning to actually walk to the bus stop. Luckily, he got there just as the bus pulled up, it soon carrying him to his awaited destination.

-

"Sasuke-kun...!!!" A tall, male teen with spiky black hair and intense eyes turned towards the voice. It belonged to a girl with mid-length pink hair and clear, bright eyes. She was running towards him, waving a hand for him to stop. She finally came to his side, breathing only for a moment before speaking once more.

"Sasuke-kun, where are you going?" the girl asked, a slender brow raised in curiosity. Her hands absent-mindedly fiddled with the books she was carrying, due to the girl's obvious fondness for the spiky-haired male before her.

"I have to go and get a new student from the station," Sasuke replied, before walking off again.

"A new student? Wait!" She grabbed his arm before he could go further, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Do you know who it is, at least?"

"Her name...? Ah, Yukio Haku..." And with that, the pink-haired girl released his arm, allowing the male to be on his way, as she stood in shock.

"H-Haku...?!" she gasped. _'Un, but... I thought the school only allowed Sasuke in as an exception beca— unless...'_ The girl's face turned into one of mixed determination and perplexity, as she suddenly turned and started hurrying back to her dorm room, accidentally bumping into someone along the way, but quickly regaining herself before taking off again.

"Sakura, you moron! Watch where you're going!!" demanded the other girl, her light hair tied up into a single, high ponytail. "Damn, you'd think they were selling new hairstyles half off in that direction, from her idiocy...!" Ino humphed, continuing on her way.

Sasuke approached the sight of where the bus was supposed to stop, his hands dug into his pockets. His face showed annoyance, from his having to always be the one to greet new students, especially considering how anti-social the male usually was. But, it was what he had to do to stay in St. Ruto's, besides keep a high GPA. After all, Sasuke thought of being kicked out of the school as the last thing on his agenda. Whatever happened, he could _not_ leave that school, for reasons the brooding teen hadn't decided to share with anyone.

A sudden surge of people appeared from seemingly nowhere, signaling that the bus had arrived. He wasn't going to bother searching for her; she'd have to already be wearing the school's uniform, which could easily be told apart from normal clothing, as most uniforms aimed to do.

Sasuke's eyes spotted her, finally, the girl just exiting the bus. She carried one, large bag, which surprised the male just a bit, if only for a moment. Most of the girls just moving in had several bags, with nothing but shoes filled in the majority of them. _'Impressive...'_

The flow of people had finally ceased a bit, so he looked her up and down as she waved a friendly goodbye to the bus driver, a smile on her face. Her hair was long, and a shiny ebony color, reaching to just below her shoulders. On her head was a navy blue, cloth headband, with two loose bits of long bangs hanging in front of it. The girl turned and flicked her hair back as the wind started picking up. Sasuke saw that her eyes seemed to have a mellow appeal to them, though the teen could still tell she hadn't slept very well the night before.

He walked over to her, the girl jumping when she first noticed him. She backed away a bit, obviously unaware that he's the one who's supposed to take her to the school.

"Sorry, but..." she starts, her voice as soft as powder snow, "I'm waiting here for someone."

"Yeah, you're just moving into St. Ruto's," Sasuke stated, which only made the newcomer look at him strangely.

"Obviously," she muttered, rolling her eyes downward to her new uniform. The St. Ruto's High School dress code included a white blouse, with a blue and green plaid skirt falling just above her knees, along with their trademark navy blue bowtie, tied loosely around her collar.

"Heh, come on," urged Sasuke, not wanting to be late due to a surprised, new student who couldn't get a clue. "You'll make me late."

"What?"

"Yeah... _I'm_ the one who's going to 'escort' you to _our_ school."

"But..." The girl stared in disbelief, one eyebrow raised high. "But, you're a guy....! Er, I think.... sorry if you're not....."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just come on. I'm not going to rape you, if that's what you're afraid of."

_'Hn, I hope not...'_ she mentally mumbled, glancing off to the side, as she reluctantly followed him.

"So, now that you believe me, my name is Uchiha Sasuke." He waited before stating, "I already know your name but... most of the girls like to introduce themselves a bit more 'formally,' per se."

"I see," replied the dark-eyed teen, a slight smile reappearing on 'her' lips. "Well, then, you may call me Haku, Sasuke-kun."

"Whatever."

-

Sakura got into her assigned seat in her math class, her eyes eagerly glancing back at the classroom door every few seconds. She was anxious because math was one of the few subjects she had with Sasuke, and she knew she couldn't fully concentrate without his presence in the room. Apparently, by the similar reactions of a couple other girls in the class, they all felt the same way. She frowned.

Another reason for her jumpiness was due to her suspicion that the Yukio Haku _she_ knew was joining the school. She had paid a visit to the principal, asking if he'd just admitted any more boys to enter, but he'd denied it. So, maybe it was just a girl with a similar name...? Still, Sakura had an odd feeling about this. What was going on?

_'And where is he...?!'_ she wondered of Sasuke, starting to feel tempted to go and search for the male outside the classroom; however, the girl knew she wouldn't gain any mercy from the teacher if the bell happened to sound if she was out the door. Still....

The 16-year old stood, pushing her chair out as she did so, and approached the open door, peeking back to make sure the teacher wasn't inside to see her escape. Smirking in triumph, Sakura was just about to tiptoe out the door, when a large obstacle abruptly halted her progress. Her blue eyes snapped up in surprise, only to see the half-masked face of Mochi-san. Simultaneously, the bell rang for school to start, making Sakura jump.

Mochi-san, a tall, mysterious man with short black hair and seemingly no eyebrows, appeared to glare down at her, as he asked, "So... where are _you_ going...?"

"S-sensei... nowhere, um, just checking for the teacher, tha—"

"Sakura-chan?" Another voice suddenly came from the side. Both Sakura and Mochi-san turned, only to see Sasuke standing there, another girl by his side.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun...! You're back!" gasped Sakura, ignoring the 'female' that stood next to her love quarry. She nor Sasuke noticed the wide-eyed stare Haku was giving Mochi-san, or the silent gaze the teacher was returning to 'her.'

"Of course I'm back," Sasuke stated, blandly. "I didn't exactly _go_ anywhere...." A light blush fell on Sakura's face.

It was that moment that Mochi-san chose to leave, saying, "Your teacher will be in shortly. Don't leave the classroom anymore." Sasuke heeded his words, and walked into the room, his form closely followed by Sakura's watch. Once he sat down, she immediately turned to Haku, her eyes widening soon after realizing he had been standing there the whole time. His own were still staring at where Mochi-san had previously stood, but Sakura's next words jolted him out of his daze.

"Haku!" she yelled and whispered at the same time, trying to make it as loud enough to intimidate him, yet quiet enough so that no one else could hear their words. "What are you doing here?!"

"Hn?"

"Don't 'hn' me!" she hissed, as she stood with her hands placed on her hips. "You'll be caught! And you'll get in trouble...! And I don't _care_ who you are, boys _aren't_ allowed here!!"

"What about Uchiha-kun?" he returned with, raising a brow in inquiry. "He's a boy, unless I'm mistaken..."

"Yes, but... but..." The girl started stuttering, unsure of how to answer specifically. "Um, well... he's different...! So there!" Sakura crossed her arms in victory, a proud, 'you got served' smile plastered on her face, with just a hint of vagueness still about her.

"Then, if he's so different," began Haku, peeking into the classroom, "why's he separated from the rest of the class?" The girl gulped, knowing the full reason why, but resolute not to tell this boy. "Well...?"

Sasuke wasn't necessarily seated alone, but the desks and chairs closest to him (the ones on his left, right, front and back) were empty. Apparently, because he was a boy and the teacher made sure no girls could sit by him.

"Don't tell me it's like this in all his classes," Haku mumbled, turning his gaze back to Sakura. Hesitantly, the girl turned away, and lightly nodded, defeated in this game. "Hn. Well, we'll see about that." And with those last words, the cross-dressing male walked into the room, his unpacked backpack hanging off of one shoulder.

The girls in the class looked up at him as he walked by, madly whispering to one another when he passed each one of them. Some commented on his height, others seemed to envy his hair. And then there were those who were happy that they had more of a chest than 'the new girl.' Haku hadn't felt the need to exactly... stuff his bra, per se, so one could see where the girls were getting at.

Their whispers, however, only turned into gasps and quieted rants when he approached where Uchiha was seated at. With a fake shy smile stuck on his face, Haku sat himself down in the desk to the right of Sasuke, the other boy glancing at him in slight disinterest.

"Be careful not to hang around me so much," warned Sasuke, with an almost blunt tone to his voice. Haku snorted in return.

"Don't worry your little bishounen head," 'she' replied, hanging her bag on the head of her chair. "I'm not sitting here because I have a petty, schoolgirl infatuation with you. This one merely feels a bit sorry that such an obviously popular boy like you has to sit alone." With that, Haku motioned to the flustered girls that resided in the room with them.

The ends of Sasuke's lips twitched up a bit, in a not-too-obvious smirk, as Haku brushed a hand through 'her' raven-colored locks. _'This chick's a bit eccentric...'_ his mind couldn't help but remark, as she pulled her new math book out of her backpack.

The teacher, a man with spiked, silvery hair and one eye covered by a large eye patch, with a leaf pattern beset on it, finally took his place at the head of the classroom. In his one hand were his notes and papers for this particular class, which he placed down on his desk as soon as he came to it, and in the other hand was a strange little book with a picture of a man chasing a woman on the cover, under the bold-lettered title of _Come Come Paradise_.

_'He's acting almost as if there isn't a class to teach,'_ Haku's mind commented, an odd look of confusion appearing on his face as he watched the man just stand behind his teaching desk, still reading his novel.

It wasn't until Sakura, having returned to her seat without notice, cleared her throat loudly that the teacher perked his head up. However, all he had to say for her was, "You should get that checked, Haruno-chan," before returning to the confines of his book.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Leaning over to Haku, the teen muttered, "Kakashi-sensei does this everyday. I doubt we're learned anything useful since school started...."

"I heard that, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi said, from behind them, making Haku almost jump. How did he appear there so quickly? The teacher patted Sasuke on the head, mockingly, before looking at the newcomer oddly. "Hello... don't think I've met you before, _Miss_," he stated, causing the cross-dresser to twitch, from the way Kakashi'd said 'Miss.' Could he have....? Did he.... know?

"Um, my name is... Yukio Haku, sensei," Haku quickly informed the teacher, finding that he'd become quite rigid from the surprise of Kakashi's statement.

"Ah, yes, now I remember!" Kakashi beamed, mussing the 'girl's' hair with one hand, before returning to the front of the room. "Yuki Haku from... North City? Heh, nice place. I hear there's lots of snow around this time."

Haku nodded, curtly, not paying much attention to the man's words, but rather to what he'd just done; how was the teacher able to slip behind them without his notice...? His eyes narrowed. _'So weird...'_

"So, do you think it wise to sit by Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked. Apparently, the 'only male student of the school' was also the only one he called by his first name. It was at this time that the boy posing as a girl chose to return to his senses, with much grace in doing so, as she answered the man's question.

"Should I believe it unwise...?" 'she' returned with, a tone of mock questioning in the words. Sasuke glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

The teacher shrugged. "Believe what you want Yukio-chan." Haku tilted his head slightly, his brows poised in confusion.

Wasn't this man going to tell him to move? Or, perhaps the girls in class were _always_ allowed to sit by Sasuke, and they just believed otherwise. Either way, the jealous women behind Haku were glaring at the back of his head, pouts sweeping all over the room as they realized that Kakashi-sensei was going to allow the 'new girl' to sit by their beloved Sasuke.

It went on like that for the rest of the day, in whatever class Haku had with the other boy, which totaled three. Haku would sit by Sasuke, the teacher would question his decision, and then allow him to do as he pleased. This, of course, resulted in many, many angry, glaring girls passing by him in the halls. However, the cross-dresser didn't mind it; all he cared about was finding a way to meet up with Zabuza, a.k.a. 'Mochi-san,' once more.

When the bell rang at three o' clock, it signaled that school was done for the day. At that point, all Haku had to do was figure out which room he was in from the dorm manager. As he walked out of the school's heavy, metal doors and down the sidewalk that led to the dormitory buildings next door, he tried to remember what Sasuke had said earlier that day.

_'First door, one with the sign...'_ Haku repeated in his mind, before pushing open the wide entrance of the building, holding it open for some girls that were going outside. He meandered for only a few feet, before finding the right place. He didn't even have to go inside to find out. There was a list of names and dorm numbers posted on a bulletin board that hung right next to the Manager's door. _'Probably just in case some oddball can't remember her room number all of a sudden,'_ he deduced, quirking a brow before proceeding to read it. It was obvious they didn't try to create an entirely new list to add him in, seeing as how the name 'Yukio Haku' was just scribbled in at the bottom of the last page, his dorm number written equally messily beside it.

"Number 103...?" he read aloud, the sloppy lettering making him feel like he should be seasick or something along those lines, because whoever wrote it must've been. The male shrugged, before re-adjusting his backpack's strap on his shoulder, before deciding to just switch it to the other side. Slowly, Haku made his way through the halls, faintly reminded of his apartment back home. It took two stair climbs up until he reached the hundreds, where he found Sakura just opening the door to her dorm.

"You live in 101?" he asked her, making the girl jump. She hadn't seen him come up beside her, and nearly cried out in surprise at the sound of his voice.

"Gyah, Haku-kun!!" she yelled, having a good mind to hit him. However, she stopped her plan of action, seeing three girls walk by them in the halls. She smiled at them, in mock innocence, before turning back to the accusing male with a scowl. "What do you think you're doing up here?" Sakura harshly whispered, with quite an amount of force behind her words. She'd thought that, at least, the male would've gotten a room in some random hotel. But, no, he was going to risk even more by staying in one of the school's dorm buildings.

"I'm staying in 103," he replied, blinking in confusion of her anger. "You shouldn't yell so much, Sakura-chan. You'll end up dying early—"

"Wait!" she suddenly said, clamping a hand over his mouth. The boy narrowed his eyes, starting to get a bit irate in reaction to her antics. "Did you just say.... 103? Not 102 or 104... or even 105?! But... 103...?"

He pulled her hand off his mouth, taking a deep breath after doing so. "Yes... 103. Why? Is it haunted or som—"

"No!" Yet again, she cut him off, this time with her words. "Sasuke-kun lives in there!!" She balled her hands up into fists by her sides, her whole body seeming to shake with envious anger, as she glared at him. "Why do _you_ get all the luck, Haku?!"

Haku crossed his arms, gazing at the door beside Sakura's own. "So, that's where he sleeps...?"

"Are you even paying attention?!" She grabbed at the white collar of his shirt, the exact same as her own, her face just inches away from his. It would've been an awkward situation otherwise, but at that moment, she was quite annoyed at the boy's blasé attitude. "You... get to live with... the one and only... Sasuke... Uchiha....!" she hissed, putting emphasis on the last two words.

"So...?" He was quickly answered with a swift shaking from the pink-haired girl.

"So?! I _ENVY_ you! Everyone else in this whole bloody school would _die_ and/or _kill_ to be in your shoes!" Sakura practically starting screaming again, as her words became louder and louder with each syllable.

"Shh, okay, fine, I care....!" Haku tried to assure her, not wanting any more random attacks from her. "So... is he already in there?"

"He gets home every day at 3:08, except for Saturdays and Sundays, when the time can vary," she quickly replied, in an almost robotic, monotone voice.

"Are you a stalker?" he jokingly asked, before regretting it as she shook her fist at him rapidly. "Okay! Sorry!! I'll be going now...!" With that, Haku started walking towards his room's door, taking note of the name tags that were stuck up on the wall next to it. They were made of paper, and apparently slid into their metal slots easily.

However, just as he was about to open the entrance to the room, Sakura instantly added the words, "Don't you dare touch him...!" before disappearing into the door of her own dorm, slamming it as she went. The cross-dressing boy nervously laughed, due to a small group of girls that happened to be passing by when she'd said that, and quickly opened his door and escaped inside it, not wanting any more embarrassment from his newfound neighbor, Sakura.

-

_'What's her deal...?'_ Sasuke had thought to himself, during that first class with Haku, when she'd been allowed to sit beside him. The day only became more and more tedious, as it appeared that she was fond of sitting next to him in each of the three classes they had together. Worse, the teachers didn't seem to mind it. What was she, some sort of hypnotist?

The male was glad to leave the grounds once the bell rang, quickly making his way out the doors and down the sidewalk, into the dormitory building his room was in. At least there, he could escape from the gangs of fan girls that seemed to pop up out of nowhere and annoy him to death. He didn't even _like_ girls, so why did they insist on attacking him with random hugs?

Not that he was gay or anything... Sasuke just didn't have an affinity for girls. Yet.

He finally reached his room, taking no heed to see if the new girl, Haku, was moved to his room. All it would have taken would've been just checking the name tags outside his door. There was no need to, after all. Sure, the school never said they _wouldn't_ put girls in his room; it's just that there'd be a whole lot of complaining parents if they did. There _was_ a reason, after all, as to why their daughters were going to an all-girl's school in the first place.

However, it wasn't like Sasuke _wanted_ a roommate, either. He'd always though he was better off without one. After all... what good would being followed around by an adoring fan be, if all the boy wanted was peace? All in all, he needed no one, especially not a roommate. And not because he didn't like girls.... yet.

Besides, the teen had his hands full just being neighbors with Sakura. She could be pretty creepy at times, and fairly obsessive, conditions only made worse by his living next to her.

Speaking of the pink-haired girl... Sasuke sat up on his bed, having just fallen onto it moments before from mental exhaustion. He glared at the door. Was that _her_ screaming bloody murder outside?

_'She's way too loud...'_ the male mentally remarked, just about to lie back down, when he hears her again. Then, again... and again. "Shut... up...!" Sasuke unwilling slid off his bed and onto his feet, before stalking over to the door.

He reached for the knob, opening his mouth to tell the girl to quiet down, when the door suddenly swung open, missing his face by half an inch.

"Watch where—" Sasuke stopped his rant when he realized fully who it was. "Y-Yukio...?"

Haku blinked twice in confusion, before replying, "I thought I told you to just call me Haku."

"That's not important...! What are you doing here?"

The cross-dressing boy pouted. "It seems like everyone wants to know that of me, today..." When Sasuke glared in response, Haku rolled his eyes, stating, "This is room 103, ne?"

Sasuke stepped back, staring blankly at the 'girl' before him. "Yes...." So, a girl _was_ going to share his living space. And that girl ended up being the odd, yet cute, Yukio Haku.

-

Afternote: I'm sorry if you're offended by this... ; I just thought this was a cute coupling. And, if this main idea of someone going to an all-this or all-that school sounds familiar, it's because I based this fanfic off of Hana-Kimi. Slightly, but just to get Haku into a skirt. XD Other than that.... (shrugs) Anyway, review! Please...? I'll be updating slowly anyway but..... please....? Just until Exhilarating is finished, then I can post as much as I want on this story. Review!!

**BTW:** This will end up being partially shounen-ai. Nothing too, _too_ extreme... but there will be smoochy-smoochy scenes, just not koochy-koochy (I think... I mean, I can't write that stuff well so...). Anywho, they _will_ be there. Maybe not next chapter, and maybe not in the next five chapters (if this story gets that long), but it _will_ be there. Just a note for all of the anti-boysXboys people.


	2. Sasuke's Secret Tryst

Intro: I do not own the Naruto characters I use in this fanfic. Nor do I own Naruto himself, however, I highly doubt I'll actually be including him in here.... o.o; Warning, there will be a trace of shounen-ai in this chapter. But, only a sentence of it. XD Generally meaning, it's easy to skip over. But, I won't label it, so anyone who doesn't like this kind of stuff should run away. Or, click the back button. Whichever works for you.

**Chapter 2 **— Sasuke's Secret Tryst

-

"If you glare so much, you'll get a terminal headache." Haku was sitting on his new dorm bed, watching his equally new roommate stare intensely at the ceiling, as Sasuke lied down on his own bed.

"I'm not glaring..." the spiky-haired male heatedly replied. "I always look this way." He glanced over at the 'girl,' a narrowed look in his dark eyes. "_This_ is me, glaring."

Haku quirked a brow, making a sound of mock impression. "Really...? Doesn't look so different to me." He smirked, shrugging.

Sasuke sat up, not taking his glare off of 'her.' "Don't you have something you should be doing...?" he asked, wanting to get this chick's attention on something _other_ than the way he looked all the time.

"Like what?"

"Like homework."

She shook her head no, her silky locks tossing up slightly as she did so. "Nope." Haku's grin did not disappear from his face. "Not until after my first week of school will they start assigning _me_ any work." For him, it'd only been three days already. And since he still had two more days, he could easily try searching for personal answers from Zabuza during that time.

That was... if the man would _stop_ ignoring him already. Haku had only seen his pursuee twice during his three days at the school; once on his first day, and again earlier in the current day. But each time, Zabuza, posing as a teacher named Mochi-sensei, would merely ignore him once the boy got close enough to speak to him. It angered, and slightly saddened, him both times that happened.

Which was why he would unintentionally take his confused feelings on his unwitting dormmate, Uchiha Sasuke.

"They're too easy on you girls," Sasuke muttered, before flopping back down on his bed. "They gave me homework right away."

"Well... they should be easier on us," Haku remarked, in a mock matter-of-factly manner. He was getting better at acting like the prim and prissy girl Sasuke thought he was. "We paid good money to get in here...!" The cross-dressing male inwardly chuckled. He may as well play his part well while he was there, after all.

"Wrong," the other teen instantly stated. "Your _parents_ paid good money."

Haku's tone immediately turned to one of seriousness. "I'll have you know it took me weeks upon weeks and jobs upon jobs just to—" He suddenly cut off, realizing what he was about to tell this complete stranger. "Hn. Never mind...."

A wondering look slowly appeared on Sasuke's face, as he, yet again, turned his head over to look at Haku. The "girl," as he thought the cross-dresser to be, had suddenly found interest in the ends of his long, black hair. However, the boy could see a dazed, almost regretting look in her doe-like eyes.

"I see..." Sasuke heaved himself up once more, before sliding off his bed, and approached the door of the dorm room. "You don't have to tell me... but, if I'm correct, you're exactly like me." He opened the door, about to step outside, when Haku spoke up.

"Wait...!" The teen had also stepped off his bed, before asking, "Are you leaving again?" By this, he meant that the spiky-haired male before him would leave everyday at around five and return before seven, from who-knows-where.

Without turning, Sasuke nodded. Haku then joined his side, before continuing, "Then... can I go with you?"

"What for?" The boy didn't seem to like the idea of yet another girl following him wherever he went.

"I um... need to get something from the school."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but only mentally so as to not anger the girl beside him. "Fine. But the school's doors close in thirty minutes, so _you_ have to hurry." They started walking down the hall, Haku quickly shutting their room's door behind him.

"What about you, then?" He could've sworn that was where the brooding male went everyday.

"I don't need to hurry, where I'm going."

So... it _wasn't_ the school? Then where could it have been? Maybe one of the girls' rooms.... One of Haku's eyebrows twitched at the thought. For two bloody hours?! What in the world could he and that girl be _doing_ for so long?! _'Besides... well....'_

However, as soon as they stepped outside the building, Haku's less-than-pure thoughts were instantly quelled. Why bother walking him all the way to the school, especially since it seemed Sasuke wasn't exactly the _fondest_ of his new roomie? So, maybe the striking youth went elsewhere...? Maybe.

And then, Haku's notions of not being on the other male's most favored list were proven true, when Sasuke kept on walking without him, knowing full well that the sidewalk leading to the high school's entrance was the other way.

"Hey, wait!" Haku called, Sasuke rigidly halting soon after. The brooding boy turned, his features seeming slightly irate.

"What...?" He rolled his eyes, for real this time, as he began walking back to Haku. "Don't tell me I have to—"

"No, I can walk myself in there," the cross-dresser quickly cut him off, rousing an even more heated stare from Sasuke. "I just... want to know... um, where the teacher's stay at night."

Sasuke's glare narrowed. "At... their homes...," he stated, his tone sounding strained with the last words. When she didn't reply for a while, he started walking away again, only to be stopped by someone harshly pulling him back by the hood of his dark grey sweatshirt.

"Wait...!!" The false-female demanded once more, before hearing what sounded like an exasperated growl come from the male he'd just ripped back to himself.

"What.... is..... it?" Sasuke hissed, his irritation growing with this girl. She _really_ knew how to push him, especially when it was the wrong time. And that time was roughly 5 p.m. everyday, when he was _supposed_ to be somewhere.

"W-What about Mochi-sensei?" her light voice inquired, wavering at the beginning. "Do you know where _he_ lives, specifically?" She finally released his hood, realizing she'd been holding it the whole time.

"Is that all?" he asked, making sure. He'd turned his head enough so that, out of the corner of his eye, he could barely see the curt nod of Haku. "To tell the truth, no. Just ask him yourself." And with that, the boy posing as a girl let Sasuke leave, without further question. Haku stood, looking slightly bemused, on the sidewalk, watching the other male make his way down the block before turning a corner.

"But..." He stared after where Sasuke's figure had disappeared. "I... can't...."

-

At seven, when Sasuke was just returning home, he passed by the still dazed Haku, sitting on the same block of sidewalk where he had left her standing earlier. He stopped in front of her, the girl's eyes seeming to stare right through his form.

"Yukio...?" He tilted back her head with a finger, making her blink in surprise. _'She didn't see me...?'_ "What are you doing out here?"

"Hn?" This only caused more suspicious looks from Sasuke. "Oh, um..." Haku stood quickly, brushing off his skirt (mostly in the back, of course), before returning the boy's gaze. "I was just... waiting for you...!"

Sasuke's eyes found a familiar narrowing glare. "For one and a half hours...?" When she nodded, he couldn't help but make a note of how terrible her acting skills were ((a.n.: Oh, if only he knew...)). "Well, did you get what you were looking for, at least....?"

"What?" This statement roused a weary sigh from the other male, thus causing a sudden epiphany for the cross-dresser. "Oh! Er, no. It ah... turned out to be in the room, after all! Silly me," Haku laughed, nervously. Sasuke's eyes gazed skyward, his image stating an obvious 'yeah, right.'

As they began walking back, the more obvious male suddenly mumbled, "It's Mochi-sensei, huh...?"

Haku winced, not noticeably, but enough to show his hesitation in answering. "It's nothing."

"So, it is him?" Sasuke glanced back at the 'girl' walking beside him, catching her shaking her head curtly. "Don't get too deep with the guy."

"I'm not!" Haku had stopped altogether, a newfound glare in his usually calm eyes. Sasuke showed naught his inner surprise, but rather returned the intense stare. "It's none of your business, anyway. Besides...," she began walking again, her pace quickening to get ahead of him, "as long as you don't ask, I won't."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" He was answered with nothing, as Haku swiftly clicked open their door and left him to catch in on the rebound. "Tch, whatever...." Sasuke had had it with his roommate. She was too unpredictable and her words could get... _too_ close for comfort. The male was determined not to let that happen again.

-

Three loud knocks came at the door. Haku turned over in his soft bed, only half-asleep after the bangs, hoping Sasuke would open the door, instead. However, all that came were even louder, angrier hits at the door. The boy groaned, pulling his sheets and pillow over his head. All that gave him was a rapid shaking of the dorm door. Unwillingly, he ripped the coverings off himself, a tired scowl apparent on his face.

He attempted to glare at bed his roommate slept in._ 'That guy can sleep through anything...!'_ his mental remark was, as the cross-dressing male practically rolled off his bed before crawling towards the door, tiredly.

As he reached the shaking door, a very familiar quieted, yet harsh, cry came from behind it. "Haku...!!" The boy's features instantly perked.

_'Sa-Sakura...?'_ He quickly stood off the ground, opening the door soon after, not caring to brush himself off. Whom he saw confirmed his thoughts, exactly. "Sakura-chan...!"

"Haku-kun!" She didn't exactly _look_ happy to see him... nor tired. The girl really looked just cross, was all.

"What are you doing out?" Haku asked her, suppressing a yawn. "It's..." he looked back into his room, at a blinking red electronic clock on his desk, "3:12?!" The male instantly turned back to the girl before him. "Why'd you wake me up?!"

"It's Sasuke-kun," she merely replied, not a trace of remorse for his tiredness in her expression. He blinked in confusion, causing the girl to roll her eyes. "You've lived with him for three days already, and you _still_ don't know when he comes and goes?!"

Haku shook his head. "Personally, I don't care, really. And _why_ couldn't you just ask me about this later? As in, tomorrow?!"

"Because Sasuke's gone _now_!" Sakura had an odd look of determination on her face. "Every night, at one, he goes somewhere. And, he doesn't return until four. Don't you want to know where he's going?!"

The boy stared at her exasperatedly, his eyes narrowing. "And _you_ wake up at the time of his departure and return to greet him....?" She ignored his mocking question. Apparently, now that Haku was there, all Sakura was looking for was a partner in crime; or, in this case, Sasuke-stalking.

"Well...?" She pleaded with her eyes, their clear blue color still shining brightly in the dim hallways of the corridor. "Will you come with me?"

"Hn...." Haku glanced off to the side. "Fine. But, if we get caught by either the teachers or Sasuke, you're taking the blame."

"Yay!" She nearly jumped for joy, before Haku stopped her. "Ahem... anyway...." Sakura smiled, sheepishly, before turning towards the staircase. "Onward...!"

-

"So... any idea where he goes...?" Haku asked the probing teen, as soon as they found themselves standing, dumbfounded, in the middle of the school's parking lot. "Well...?"

Sakura sighed, sadly, before answering, "No...." To this, Haku couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Well, _I_ have some clue... I guess," he muttered, soon retracing the steps he remembered seeing Sasuke tread earlier that day. "You'll still get blamed, you know, right?"

"Yeah, whatever." Sakura urged him onwards, tugging at his jacket's sleeve, something he'd just put on minutes earlier. "Just hurry! I don't want to see him when he's walking back...!"

Once they turned the corner he'd sent their quarry disappear behind before, Haku had no real clue where he was headed. It was still the dead of night, yet the trees were bustling with the cries of chirping frogs and crickets. There must have been a lot of them too, as they were making a wide variety of racket.

"These stupid bugs are going to give us away...!" claimed Sakura, an angry stare set on the trees and bushes they passed. Her partner, however, was quite relieved the noise was there. If it was silent, he would have feared that they'd be found out anyway, just for breathing too loud.

He knew how quiet the night could be. In his hometown, when it would snow, it seemed like everyone but he had died, it was so silent. Running a hand through his long, raven locks, the male thanked the singing night creatures for giving life to this hour. Otherwise, he would just be alone, with Sakura, just _begging_ to be caught and kicked out of school.

They could not have been walking for more than a few minutes, but it felt like hours to the anxious Sakura, her hands shaking at her sides, before the girl crossed them in an attempt to hide her uneasiness. She thought her heart was having a seizure in her chest. Why was she so nervous? After all, the girl was on the verge of finally finding out where Sasuke was always so keen to go. So, why was she worrying that she was also going to regret it?

Sakura frowned, trying to shake the feelings from her mind. _'I'm going to find out his rendezvous spot, and I'm going to like it! Well... unless he's going out to meet another girl....'_ Her expression darkened at the thought, before coming back again at full force. _'If worse comes to worse, I'll just have to kill his mistress...!!'_ An odd, zealous look fell on her face, and even in the dark hours of the early morning, Haku noticed it out of the corner of his eye.

The boy quirked a slender brow at the sight. "So what, pray tell, are _you_ devising...?" he asked, receiving a surprised gasp from Sakura.

"Nothing! Pay attention to where we're going," she hastily replied, turning her head away. Haku chuckled, only further irritating her. "....hey! Stop laugh—" Sakura's voice was cut off by the cross-dresser's hand, Haku pulling her behind a tree and against a wired fence. She tried to ask why, but the male only quieted her by hugging Sakura closer to him.

However, her unasked question was soon answered by the low voice of Sasuke, who turned a corner across the street from their sidewalk. He was talking to someone, which relieved the two because it meant a less chance of the spiky-haired teen finding them. It made Sakura even more relieved, however, because Sasuke was talking to another guy.

She could've screamed from bliss, but held back due to two things: 1) they would be discovered, and 2) Haku was crushing her against himself, making it hard to breathe, much less scream. However, that short-lived relief faded when she saw the two stop walking and turn towards each other. At first, because she thought they'd seen and Haku, but then because of something else.

That something else being Sasuke leaning over and lightly kissing the other male.

-

afternote: Ah my me. I told you there would be shounen-ai, despite how short I've made this chapter. Now, all you anti-boyXboy people out there should probably have scattered after reading that. And if you haven't, feel free to review and tell me why. n.n Thanky swanky. That last note actually goes out to anyone who has read this far. XD Review!!!


	3. Lover's Identity

Intro: Wow, lots of reviews. I'm quite happy, now, thank you. As long as you review, I'll write this story. I _was_ planning on someone else being Sasuke-kun's secret boyfriend, but then another idea came to mind in the middle of writing this chapter and it turned out to be a lot better. Warning- there will be yet another smoochy scene in here. Just so you all know..... innocent smile

**Chapter 3 –** Lover's Identity

-

Haku and Sakura stood, hidden, in shock of the sight. Had Uchiha Sasuke, St. Ruto's school hottie, actually kiss a boy? The two watched as the kissing pair parted ways, Sasuke apparently going back to the school.

When they couldn't see him anymore, Haku 'hm'ed, stating, "Well, that explains why he doesn't care much for girls...."

Sakura pulled away from his grip, looking absolutely horrified, dazed, confused, and a multitude of other emotions one would have if one ever caught the "love of her life" kissing another male. She gawked at the place where the kiss had happened, her fists looking ready to clobber the other boy. Haku stepped back from her, hoping she wasn't about to mistake him for Sasuke's secret lover.

"Now calm down, Sakura, maybe it was... er...," he hesitated on finishing, thinking of another solution. "Oh, maybe it was an accident...! Right...? Sakura-chan?"

She swiftly turned to him, her face so flushed that Haku could even see the redness of it in the dim morning light. "That was no bloody mistake, Haku!" The male stepped back further, readying to defend himself if it was needed. "Didn't you see? Sasuke actually _smiled_...! I've never even seen his lips twitch upwards, much less smile...!!"

"Well, maybe so, but—"

"No!" She stopped him, shaking her head. An odd fire burned in her eyes as she spoke. "I... didn't think it would be like this if I went...." Haku sighed, before placing an assuring hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Come on," he stated. "If Ino-chan wakes up before you're back, you know she'll take no time in telling someone." The girl nodded, slowly, and the two headed back to the dorm building, the night seeming a lot more silent than when they came.

-

Haku clicked open his door, hoping Sasuke would be asleep by then. _'Hopefully, whatever he and his secret buddy were doing tired him out... despite how weird that thought suddenly makes me feel."_

The boy had thought he was home free, finally reaching the foot of his bed after treading across the floor as quietly as he could. He released the breath he had been holding, before pulling back the cottony white sheets that covered his bed. However, the boy nearly cried out in surprise when he saw a very awake and very curious looking Sasuke staring back up at him, his head propped up on one hand.

"Hello, Yukio-chan," he greeted, his voice deep with suspicion and maybe something more. Haku stepped back at the sight of the male. The spiky-haired teen's face seemed white in contrast with the darkness that covered the room, making him appear eerie and almost ghost-like. Though, to Haku, that also only made him appear more intriguing than the striking male already was.

"Uchiha-kun," Haku replied, curtly. He tried to sound steady, but his words were released on sharp breaths of surprise.

Sasuke sat up, leaning his weight on one arm, his dark eyes never wavering in their connection with Haku's. "So... what were _you_ doing out...?" he asked, his words a mix of mock curiosity and slight accusing. The cross-dresser couldn't help but mentally wince at them, despite his attempt to keep up his stoic front.

"Well, what are _you_ doing in my bed...?" Haku returned with, rousing a scowl on the other male's face. "And here I thought you said you wouldn't rape me." He flicked back his long, raven hair, before stating, "I guess men really are nothing but lies."

"Huh." Sasuke slid off of the false-girl's bed, a glare suddenly beset in his eyes. He seemed intent on just leaving the matter at that after those words, returning to his own bed. But, Haku stopped him before he could go further, one hand grabbing a hold of his arm.

"While you're up...," the cross-dressing male began, pulling the brooding teen back to himself, "allow me to get that stranger's mark off of you."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What the hell does that—" Before he could finish, Haku had pressed the male's lips against his own. It only lasted for less than a second, though, before Sasuke ripped himself away, rubbing his sleeve against his mouth.

Haku smirked, haughtily. _'And _that_ is the best I can do to punish you...,'_ he thought, justifying his actions as having been for Sakura, when actually, it was just to see what Sasuke would do next. He wanted to test whether or not the teen before him was, in actuality, gay. Though... Haku also got a little enjoyment from it.

Sasuke only glare more furiously at him, before finally pulling his arm away from his face. "Don't tell anyone," he demanded, the tone harsh and cold.

"Your rendezvous with another man is none of my concern," Haku replied, brushing a hand through his long hair. Even if the kiss between them was short-lived, it was still just a bit more gratifying than he had planned.

"Stupid," claimed the other male. "The kiss. _Our_ kiss," he hissed. "Don't tell _anyone_."

Haku quirked an eyebrow. "Hn. I'm not exactly one to kiss and tell, anyway...."

"Just don't, or else." The warning look in his eyes was not unfamiliar to the cross-dressing male. However, this one seem a lot more urgent.

"Wait, but... why?"

Sasuke looked about ready to tell him, but stopped, before turning away and getting into his own bed. "It's none of your business," he simply stated, only causing more curiosity in the other male.

After that, Haku couldn't exactly sleep very soundly. Actually, he really couldn't sleep at all. His thoughts kept tailing after Sasuke's words. One would think he would much rather have people know he was unwillingly kissed by a girl (despite Haku not necessarily truly being one) than know he initiated a kiss with a boy. However, the male had insisted that Haku not tell about theirs.

_'Why does _that_ have to be such a big secret...?'_ As Haku looked over at the window, he could barely see the light of morning peeking from behind the floral curtains. _'Damn you, Uchiha, keeping me up.'_ He closed his eyes, devising quick ruses he could come up with in case he accidentally fell asleep in one of his classes. _'Meh, I'll blame Uchiha's snoring...Though that would certainly get me more fan girls' glares than I could count....'_

--

_A swing set creaked with every back and forth motion, a lonely looking small boy sitting on one of the swings. His hands clutched at the metal supporters that held the swing to the bar, just as threatening tears clutched to his eyes, despite their want to fall. He wouldn't allow it._

_The dusk colored sky was turning purple and orange; the further away the sky was from the sun, the darker it got in those colors, before finally ending at the other side of the horizon in a midnight blue tone. The boy's eyes, seeming to be a melting tint of dark chocolate, gazed up at this darker end of the sky, just barely making out the faint twinkles of soon-to-come stars._

_His messy, black hair hung over his eyes, the ends in the back falling just above his shoulders. He could have easily been mistaken for an equally young girl, and usually was. It mattered nothing to him; hardly anything mattered much to the boy. _

_Not since...._

_His dark gaze lowered to the soft sand that was sprinkled heavily across the park's ground, put there supposedly for young children's safety. However, it had more than once been the thing he found caught in his mouth, when other kids pushed him down and dug his face into it. He looked elsewhere to forget, but his memory lingered._

_Just as the boy had glanced at a tree close by, he noticed something. Blinking in confusion first, before stopping the swing from wavering beneath him, he stared at the figure that stood beside the greenery. The figure stared back._

_The boy swallowed, before turning his gaze away. He tried to brush off the look that he knew was still upon him, but couldn't. Why was this stranger staring at him? He lowered his head, his hands holding tighter to the chained links on either side of him. He could feel the rust on them rubbing off on his fingers, but cared not. He just wanted this man to stop looking at him. This man, with eyes seeming crueler than all his tormenters' glares put into one._

_Suddenly a voice.__ He looked back up, turning towards it. It was the stranger, speaking to him. The boy was about to go back to ignoring him, but the man said more. Looking up at him, the child couldn't help but shrink in his seat. What was going to happen? Why didn't he run away?_

_The boy shut his eyes, biting his lip, and turned away. After moments of silence from the stranger, he peeked back up. He was still there, standing in wait, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Finally, the young male opened his mouth to speak. The words were short-lived, and seemed as soft as a small bird covered in down. Even so, from a distance, one could see the leering smile that appeared on the man's face, as he reached down for the boy and—_

--

The loud berating call of the alarm was the next thing he heard, Haku having fallen asleep without notice. He sprung up from his bed, gasping, before looking tiredly around the room. What he was searching for, the teen didn't know. He just felt that he should've been looking for someone, in the back of his mind.

"Tch, finally," stated Sasuke, sitting on his bed while adjusting the tie that was a part of _his_ uniform. Haku had reasoned that if he had met the other male under different circumstances, he'd have never seen Sasuke wearing such a thing, regardless of it actually looking good on him.

"How can you stand to sleep so long?" the brooding male continued, soon standing.

Haku scowled, not even realizing the expression on his own face. Apparently, the cross-dresser was not an early morning person, despite the cheery nature he put on the rest of the day. "Well, how can _you_ stand to wake up before the alarm...?" he retaliated, before another thought popped into his head. "Don't tell me you've been awake this whole time...."

Sasuke smirked, before tossing Haku's headband to 'her.' "Hurry up, I'll most likely be the one held responsible if _you're_ the one who's late." The false-female caught the dark blue hair accessory with one hand, the other yanking a brush off the desk next to his bed.

He hastily swept it through his hair, the task not taking long because it took a lot for his hair to be tangled anyway, and quickly slipped the headband on. After an equally quick tidying of his mussed bed, the boy commanded Sasuke to "not look," and put on his own uniform.

The other male crossed his arms, impatiently. Finally, he turned around, only to see Haku cleaning up his own bed. "Can't you just leave?" he asked, furrowing his brows in annoyance.

Haku glanced up at him in question, just as he folded the edge of Sasuke's top sheet over. _'Whatever happened to the hissing he was doing last night...?'_ "I could go faster if you would just fix your bed yourself, for once," he said, simply, before sliding his shoes on over the knee-high, navy blue socks he'd put on earlier.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. When Haku finally came to his side, the male's expression immediately turned from one of exasperation to one of warning, as Sasuke grabbed Haku's arm tightly. The cross-dressing boy flinched at the contact, trying to pull his arm away, but not succeeding. The spiky-haired teen's grip was too strong.

"Don't forget what I told you last night," he stated, a narrowed glare appearing in his eyes.

"But—"

He was cut off by a harsh tug on his arm. "Don't _tell_," Sasuke seethed, his face just inches from Haku's as he spoke. "If you do, I swear I'll...." He shoved the other boy away, not caring to finish his words. Haku stared after the male, just as Sasuke disappeared out of the dorm door, rubbing the spot on his arm where he was seized.

"Hn..." The cross-dresser followed soon after, being sure to put as much distance between himself and Sasuke as he could._ 'Did that really irk him so much....?'_

Just as he locked the door behind himself, the room next door opened up, revealing Sakura. As she stepped out, he noticed something clutched in her hands, looking like a doll of sorts.

"Sakura-chan...!" he called, the girl turning around in surprise.

"H-Haku-kun," she mumbled back, not appearing very happy to see him. The male rose a single brow, gazing at her hands in question. Before Sakura knew it, he grabbed the ragdoll out of her hands and was peering at it against the hallway light. "Hey! Give that back...!!"

"What is it?" he asked, turning the figure over in his hands, while still keeping it out of the owner's reach. "Some sort of make-shift Barbie?" The cloth doll was blonde, but it sure didn't look like a Barbie, or even a girl. It hung loosely around his fingers, the clothing it was wearing was a vivid shade of orange, as its piercing blue eyes stared back at him. They were apparently dotted in by a marker of the same shade. "It's creepy...."

Finally, Sakura ripped it out of his hands, before thrusting it against her chest for safety. "None of your business...!" she cried, turning away in a huff. Haku tilted his head in curiosity.

"Is it a voodoo doll or something...?" he asked, peeking at the object over her shoulder. She pulled away from him, wariness evident in her eyes.

"Maybe..." she replied, looking back down at the doll in her hands. "Or maybe not."

Haku placed his hands on his hips. "If that is one, it sure doesn't look like me."

Sakura glared at him. "Obviously, it's not supposed to be you!" she said, scowling. "It's for that stupid boy's stupid mistress....!!"

Haku blinked. _'Mistress...?'_ "Oh... you mean Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura looked at him, wonderingly. _'Since when did Mr. Formal start calling Sasuke by his first name?'_ She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts. "Yeah...."

"So, you actually know who he was with?" Haku asked. He glanced down at the doll in her arms, its figure hanging limply as its blue eyes stared into space. "I couldn't see a thing, then...."

"The second I saw that blasted blonde hair, I knew!!" she claimed, a little louder than the both of them had hoped. She clamped her mouth shut, glaring off to the side. "... stupid Uzumaki...." Sakura muttered, gripping the object in her hands tighter at the thought.

"Who is he?" Haku couldn't resist asking. "Is that is name? Uzumaki...?"

She nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto.... He was the one Sasuke-kun was kissing in the dark."

-

after notes: Yeah, my new idea was actually inspired by a couple of the reviewers. Myah, so many requests for more pairings... n.n;;;; Yes, Iruka is a teacher by the way. O.o; I have no clue how I'll get him and Kakashi-san to pair up, though, so don't get your hopes up too high for that one.....

Just so you know, this story will mainly revolve around the two pairings of Haku and Sasuke, and Haku and Zabuza-san (though, I tend to twitch when I think of the latter... x3;;). In a later chapter, you'll see Sasuke with yet another male, though it will be more of a flashback than anything. And, this secret boy will remain a secret until then. Don't you like suspense....?

Review, please!!


	4. Intact

Info: (cheesy grin) Hehe. Wow, thank you very much for the reviews. To show my gratitude for you all, I'll include answers to the reviews at the end of this chapter. Huzzahs upon huzzahs! XD All your comments will be answered then, so don't fret! On, with the fic....!

Disclaimer- Myah, I do not own Naruto... though, if I did, I sure would be making a _lot_ of people squirm with my odd fetish of weird couplings.... mwahahaha.

**Chapter 4 **— Intact

-

The room's bustling quieted down as the school bell rung for first period to begin. There were still the traces of bold whispers here and there, the speakers knowing full-well that their late-as-usual teacher was probably not going to arrive anytime soon. Haku tried to stare straight ahead, but found his vision wavering.

_'Un... tired....'_ He stifled a moan, as an arm automatically came and placed itself on his desk, Haku's cheek soon coming in heavy, almost sudden contact with his knuckles. He could feel his lids heavy against his eyes, and fought the feeling. It was annoying him; this was only made more so by the fact that it was Sasuke's fault. Well... as far as _he_ was concerned. He wearily sighed, audibly, causing the spiky-haired male next to him to glance at Haku out of the corner of his eye.

"Your own fault for following me," Sasuke merely mumbled, his hands folded in mid-air above his desk, propped up by his elbows, as he seemed to lean his own head against them. Two days before, Haku had noted this to be Sasuke's 'brooding position.' The label seemed to hold true, as well, as he had seen Sasuke perform this maneuver many times already, despite it only being his fourth day knowing the boy. And, as everyone who watched Sasuke (and had a notable brain) had found, he typically was the definition for the term 'brood.' So much so, that Haku was certain that if one were to look it up in the dictionary, one would find Sasuke's school picture, along with a notation that stated, "Uchiha Sasuke; melancholy, yet angry, boy extraordinaire."

"Well..." Haku began to reply, before hesitating. He decided to just leave it at that, not even being able to think of a retaliation to return with. _'Hn, a first.__ Guess I'm cornered.'_ Again, he blamed the unwitting male beside him. Even in his languid state, Haku could feel a glare shot at him. The cross-dresser smirked, unknowingly to Sasuke, his hair having fallen like a curtain over his actions.

The waves of relieved sighs and "Finally!"'s sweeping across the room signaled that their delayed teacher, Kakashi, had finally arrived. He was, yet again, buried in the confines of his crudely named novel, seemingly oblivious of his surroundings. When he finally closed the book, after marking his spot, of course, he smiled to the class, the evidence seen only in his one visible eye.

"Sorry, kids," he said, flipping open a binder he'd brought onto his teacher's desk, pulling a paper out of its confines. "I was held back for an announcement."

Haku's dazed stare narrowed, despite the indolence of it. _'Sure....'_ The false-female wasn't one to distrust people, normally, but Kakashi-sensei was an exception, especially when it came to the math teacher's morning excuses. The man seemed to have a knack for making things up when he was late, which seemed like all the time. And they were usually things one would deem true, at first, before actually thinking into the words.

Kakashi held up the paper he'd pulled out of the file, waving it in the air. "This, being it." He stuck it to a cork binding that went over the top of the dry-erase board behind him. "You're all free to look at it after class," he turned back to the students, a mock warning tone in his next words, "_After_, being the key word, there."

As the teacher began what seemed like it would be unending droning, Haku's eyes flitted to the snow-white leaflet that Kakashi had posted. In bold font, the letter's ends curled like mischievous smiles, it stated, "Aspiring Actresses Wanted." Underneath were small words, hard to see from where he sat, looking suspiciously like the names of plays; most likely what the 'aspiring actresses' were to perform.

He couldn't help but form a smirk, its appearance mirroring the playful looks of the lettering on the bulletin. The next comment that arose out of his mouth, scarcely making itself anything more than a whisper, seemed to appear unthinkingly as it aimed itself for Sasuke. "Too bad it says _actresses_, Uchiha-kun. You act straight very well."

Haku could just barely hear the "Hn," that came from Sasuke, the sound having been released on a short, somewhat forced exhale. Even so, the cross-dressing male could still hear the irate scowl that accompanied the response, without having to peer over his hand to see for himself. He straightened his form, interlacing his fingers of both hands together in front of himself on his desk, feeling that his lethargy had passed away with Sasuke's answer. Revenge was sweet, even if it came in the form of just a few simple, teasing wo—

"You also act very well at something you're not." The stoic mask of Sasuke wasn't sacrificed as he said this, Haku's own reaction being quite different, as a subdued gasp found itself within him. He turned his face away, deciding to find the wall quite interesting, Haku's hands starting to wring each other, a variety of fears swirling in his chest, all centering on one idea.

_'Does he know...?!'_

"..... Yukio-chan?" Haku snapped his head back to the front, coloring tinting his cheeks unnoticeably to anyone but himself, as he saw Kakashi watching him.

"Yes...? Um, Sensei?" He asked, his hands finally released from their own grappling of each other. The man quirked an eyebrow, as if expecting Haku to already know what he was talking about.

"Do you know the answer to the question, Haku-chan?" Kakashi inquired, Haku suddenly feeling the stares of everyone in class, save for Sasuke who still seemed to be holding up his impassive front. The boy nodded, slowly, not really sure.

Finally, he replied, "Erm... 26?" Kakashi made a face that appeared to clearly state, 'Did you really just say that,' only making Haku only more at a loss.

And then, he smiled, resulting in even more of a surprise in the cross-dresser. "Right, Yukio-chan, 26...!" Kakashi stated, quickly writing down the answer on the whiteboard behind him with a dry-erase marker. "Now then, who can give me the answer to number eleven from homework, last night?"

After an already too-long-for-comfort class, made longer by Haku's seemingly nervous stares into space, the bell finally rang for second. He sighed, in relief, happy to get away from Sasuke for even a second. Haku swore that all during class, he could hear the stoic male beside him chanting words of cross-dressing and false identities like a mantra.

It was, obviously, all in his head, of course. And when he stood to leave, he realized that, as Haku peeked over at Sasuke, who was stuffing his folders into his bag. The spiky-haired male noticed this, a brief glare being his retort, as he up and left the room.

_'Don't give me that look....'_ Haku scowled, arching a brow at the boy's leave. He was beginning to grow very loathsome of that stare, it having crossed Sasuke's features many times since Haku had met him. And the cross-dressing boy was beginning to grow tiresome of seeing it every time it appeared at even the slightest annoyance.

Pulling his bag onto his back, he strode out of the classroom quickly, not even caring to take a second glance at the note that had been posted earlier. It was swept to the back of Haku's mind, the current concern being whether or not Sasuke knew his secret.

-

The girl stabbed at the lax doll in her hands viciously, her pink hair flying up with every dramatic thrust of the butter knife she'd chosen to use as her weapon. Lengthened suffering, she had said, starting to saw at the miniature, blonde figure's head with the tool. Of course, this only proved her lack of voodoo doll torture implements.

Sakura didn't even notice baffled stares she was receiving from her fellow schoolmates, as they passed her in the bustling hallways, the girl standing beside her half-open locker as she stabbed at the mini-Naruto in her hands. She had resolved that after every class, she would pull the doll out of her locker and attempt to torture it in any way that she could, hoping that at least one strand of the abuse would reach the real Uzumaki Naruto.

She could still remember the boy's haughty smile, from when she knew both him and Sasuke back in junior high. _'Meh, still the pervert he always was...'_ Sakura noted, her fiery glare seeming to burn through the cloth figure, as her sawing into his head increased tenfold. _'Who does he think he is, anyway, seducing _my_ Sasuke like that?!'_

"What are you doing?" The sudden voice broke Sakura out of her thoughts, the girl jumping away from the sound as her hands tactlessly hid the cloth Naruto and butter knife behind her back. Her shoulders sagged as she saw who it was, the doll and knife both coming back out of their hiding places.

"Oh, Haku-kun...." she breathed, narrowing her gaze at him. Sakura's eyes automatically traced his form up and down, as he stood before her. Now that she thought about it, Haku looked better in the school's uniform skirt than _she_ did. This only annoyed her further, as if the tiny Naruto she held, twisting it in her hands, wasn't enough. Her next words came out with an audible edge. "What do you want?"

"You're still playing with that little Uzumaki...?" he asked, ignoring her question. Haku made another grab for the miniature, this time failing as Sakura snatched it back behind her. He gave up after the first time, not wanting to instigate an encounter of the 'angered Sakura kind' in the hallways. "How will performing unknown afflictions upon little Uzumaki-san break up Sasuke-kun and he?"

_'Again with the first name....'_ "Don't call him '-san'...!!" she retorted, stuffing both torture paraphernalia back into her locker before slamming it closed. "That dork doesn't deserve even having a name....!" Sakura seethed, glaring to the side.

"How so?" he questioned. Sakura returned her stare to him, Haku practically hearing the hiss of an angry rattlesnake as she did so. She wanted him to be on his unusually merry way, to leave her riled up by herself. And yet, here the cross-dressing weirdo was, asking her random questions. What was his bloody problem?!

"You were there!" she cried, crossing her arms and leaning against the cool metal of the lockers. She could feel them through her shirt, slightly easing the anger that had risen to her surface once more. "You saw him.... _kissing_... HIM....!" Sakura's words became more like furiously exhaled breaths nearing the end of her sentence.

Haku blinked. "You sure act familiar with this Uzumaki fellow." He tilted his head thoughtfully, folding his arms in front of himself. "Why haven't I ever heard of this particular ex of yours?"

Sakura flinched, jumping away from the lockers in surprise. "What?!" She punched the metal doors, her face a bright red from the mix of pure ferocity and embarrassment Haku had let loose in her. "If anything, we were acquaintances!!" A dull ache shot over her knuckles, crossed with the cold of the metallic surface. However, the girl ignored it with a passion.

Haku stepped back, staring at the lockers, then back at Sakura. And then, the familiar ringing of the school bell suddenly sounded above them, forcing the two back into reality. Haku nervously smiled, and went on his way, stating, "Tell me later," as he walked past the heated girl.

Her lips quirked into a lop-sided smirk of sorts, as she felt a twitch arise on her face. _'Someone up there must love him or something,'_ Sakura mused, whipping her backpack over her shoulder. She hurried through the corridors into her next classroom, not caring to notice the impatient stare of the teacher on her as she sat in her seat.

Back in junior high, the only thing she could remember about the blonde male was that.... well, he was annoying. _'The most irritating twit I've ever had the displeasure to be aware of.'_ Naruto had appeared to have a crush on the girl, much to her disgusted dismay. He would regularly say something to her that was libido-based in its form, and she would, in turn, smack the living daylights out of him.

And now, he was smooching Sasuke behind her back? Behind everyone's backs! And probably not only kissing... who knows what more the two boys have done under the cover of night!

Sakura shuddered at the thought, the girl beside her scooting partially away in fear of an oncoming illness. And then, a quite obvious thought struck her like a bolt of fan girl lightning. _'What if they.... at night.... together...?'_ Her thoughts were mixed and slurred until, their meaning apparent, but not until she was able to put them into words in her head. _'What if they... slept... together? As in, Sasuke's not clean? As in, no more hope for me?!'_

She screamed, causing the jumping of many fellow female classmates, as Sakura stood breathlessly at her desk, staring down at its wooden surface. Iruka, the teacher of the class, stared at her, nonplussed.

"Haruno...?" he questioned, his eyebrows raised high. "Do you have to go see the nurse?" Hearing the words, the girl looked up at him, a distraught expression on her face. Nodding curtly, she turned and ran out of the room, not even bothering to grab her bag and things.

As Sakura rushed down the halls, she positively felt like bawling her eyes out, but couldn't find the heart to. What for? Just because _she_ wouldn't be the one to steal Sasuke's heart? She had to look at the bright side; at least Ino wouldn't have as much of a chance, either. But still, he would never be _hers_. Her legs slowed to a pace even less than that of a walk.

"Sasuke-kun...." Sakura sighed, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Her brows were knitted in a cross between worry and grief. All the cursings and glares in the world couldn't help this situation. However, if she could manage to find a way to kill Naruto using only the voodoo doll of him....

"Sakura-chan?" The voice perked her head up, the girl gasping inaudibly. The spiky-haired teen stared at her from across the hall, a question in his dark eyes. She barely managed an uneven smile, cursing the irony of it all.

"Sasuke-kun, what a... er, surprise..." she said, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand. "What are you doing out of your classroom?" Sasuke blinked at the question.

"Exactly what I was going to ask you," he stated, closing the distance between them. They continued to walk, thought Sakura wasn't even sure she knew where they were going anymore.

"Erm, nurse's office," the girl replied, hesitantly. She kept her head straight, but couldn't help looking at him out of the corner of her eye. How Haku could resist attacking this male amorously in his sleep was beyond her. Who could deny that the shroud of secrets that veiled Sasuke was beguiling? That, and the boy's striking, physical features. If anything, she was sure that even a couple of the teachers at the school fancied him.

"How about you?" Sakura repeated her question from before, attempting to keep her mind away from things that could eventually turn into the gutter.

"Nothing." The answer was brisk, causing the girl to turn towards him, skeptically.

"Skipping?" she asked, the word sounding taboo on her tongue. And, when it came to Haruno Sakura, it was. And she thought it would've been the same for Sasuke.

He looked at her strangely. "Not in that way," Sasuke remarked. "Nothing, as in nothing suspicious. As in, my teacher sent me out to get something for her from the library." He quirked a brow at Sakura. "Did you honestly think I would skip class...?"

Her cheeks colored, the girl turning away to hide the tint. "N-no. I was just asking a simple question, that's all."

"Huh. Simple is right," he stated, his stoic features cracking for a smirk when she turned back to him angrily. After this, they walked in silence for a short while, Sakura knowing that he would have to turn away eventually to get to the hallway he needed. Finally, she drew enough courage to ask something that had been plaguing her mind since they'd ran into each other.

"Sasuke-kun...." she began, attempting to pretend this question was innocent by twirling a strand of her pink locks while staring straight ahead. "Erm, do you remember someone from junior high named.... uh, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sasuke didn't falter at this, though he didn't answer quickly, either. He finally replied with a low, "Yes." Sakura looked at him, curious of what he would say next. "I remember that perverse moron," he added, causing Sakura to make a sound of confusion.

He turned to her, one brow arched. "Don't tell me _you've_ forgotten. You were his main victim."

She shook her head, tersely. "Of course not...! I was just checking if you had...." The girl stared off to the side once more, before Sasuke stopped walking altogether. Sakura looked back at him, nonplussed, before realizing it was because that was where he was supposed to turn. "Um... guess I'll just be going this way, then," she said, smiling nervously.

Sasuke nodded, and walked away. As he disappeared behind a door in the corridor, Sakura stared after where he had been standing before, a look of confusion darkening her blue eyes. "What was... that...?"

-

He released the breath he felt like he'd been holding since he left her side, leaning against the glass entrance of the library. _'Were both she and Yukio out last night...?'_ the male wondered, both brows furrowing at the thought. _'Both following me?'_ He scowled, before continuing into the borders of the library's narrow passageways.

In truth, Sasuke _had_ been skipping class, but Sakura didn't need to know that. He just had to get away from that eccentric Yukio Haku, who shared his 1st, 5th, and 8th classes. And in each one of them, Haku sat right by him, caring not whether it was right or otherwise.

_'She's a fool,'_ he mentally remarked, a hand coming up to sweep through his ebony spikes of hair. _'And why is she so intent on stalking that equally weird Mochi?'_

Sasuke's eyes ran over the various titles of books that surrounded him, as the boy hid in their shelves' confines. The place was so deserted, that the school didn't even bother having a librarian. It wasn't like it mattered, anyway. With the onslaught of the internet and other modern apparatus, what use did books do if one could just as easily find the information on a computer?

This was good for him at the moment, however, because it meant next to no chance of him being discovered. And even if he was, if the person was a student, they most likely wouldn't tell on him. He _was_ Uchiha Sasuke, after all. Only male student of the school, as far as he knew anyway, and favored among the student body's masses.

How he was made to be such was the real trick, however. How _did_ he go about being accepted into an all-girl's school? What was the secret that so many other males of his age would kill and/or die to know? It was very simple, yet quite complex at the same time.

He pleaded to join. And not because he knew that he would be swarmed by legions upon legions of girls. Not because he thought that an all-girl's school would be easier, or anything ignorant like that. In fact, it was a lot harder for him, because in exchange for attending the school, he had to regard even more rules than the female students did. The reason why he wanted to, no, _needed_ to be there was because of one thing.

It was either go to a school with nothing but girls in it, or have to deal with the temptation of seeing males everyday at a normal school. It was bad enough that he had to deal with the torrid feelings when he was in middle school, but he had known it would probably get worse the older he became. And it had. So much so that he pretty much forced himself to break away from the integrated ways of normality and join St. Ruto's.

Sasuke sat against one of the bookshelves, leaning his head back against the uneven spines of the books that stood in that particular row behind him. Okay, so he wasn't normal, himself. If anything, he was tainted. Even more so with the little affairs he was having with the blonde from his days of junior high. But did that bother him?

_'It shouldn't... but it does.'_ He didn't want to be this way. Sasuke had always thought himself to be the best of any guy, haughty as that was. But, how perfect is a guy who can only find other males attractive? He made a sound of aversion, not even liking the thought. This was why he could _not_ leave the school, no matter what. Naruto wanted him to forget trying to turn straight and just go to regular classes, but Sasuke remained adamant. He could only get better, right...?

-

_'The fourth day has come and gone, and still _nothing Haku mused, glaring at the path ahead of him. He was walking back to the dorm, the giggling of girls rushing past him like waves, as everyone hurried back to their rooms. Haku hugged his books in front of his chest, as if they were a shield, the cross-dressing male paying attention to nothing but the ground below as he walked. How was he going to ask Zabuza why he had—

"Ah...!" The sky spun as Haku found himself tackled to the grass, his books spread around he and his 'attacker.' "What the...?" He quickly smoothed his skirt out, hoping no one saw anything of importance, and stared at the tackler in curiosity.

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't looking," she apologized, frantically reaching over to gather all of Haku's books for him. "I'm so s-stupid, please don't be angry...!"

"Oh, no it's fine," he replied, getting a good look at the girl. She had short hair, and her anxious eyes were the oddest color he'd ever seen. Haku soon found himself staring, and quickly turned his gaze away when she looked up at him, holding all his things in both arms.

She stood, helping him up, and handed Haku's things back to him, before brushing herself off. He looked at her again. "Hey... aren't you Hyuga?" The girl nodded curtly, before brushing a hand through her hair, nervously.

"Mm-hm. Are you okay...? I-I'm sorry, again," she asked once more, avoiding eye contact with him as she spoke.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said again, before noticing a crumpled paper jutting out of one of his text books. Haku pulled it out, Hinata blinking in surprise of it. "Oh... is this yours?" he asked, looking it up and down. She nodded again, not even bothering to take it back, and instead allowed him to read it.

It was another flyer for the drama class, with the same imp-like font stating its want for girls keen in acting. He didn't bother to read the smaller print, and just handed it back to the girl before him, Hinata hastily folding it up in her hands.

"Why were you running?" he asked, one brow raised in question. She looked away, a reddened tint in her expression.

"Er, um... because, I was hurrying to go and ask Mochi-sensei a question before he left," Hinata answered, receiving a wide-eyed stare from Haku. "Are you sure you're—"

"Why him?" Haku quickly asked, causing a jump from the girl. His words still held a soft kindness to them, but they sounded a bit more forced with the last statement.

She hesitated in answering. "Um... he's one of the teachers of the drama department." Haku grabbed her by the shoulders, Hinata too timid to pull back, as his books once again fell to the grass. "Wh-what are—?!"

"When does he leave?" he asked, his words more hurried than before.

"I-I'm not entirely sure but..." Hinata faltered, thinking, "but, I know he doesn't stay after school for very long...." Haku released her, nodding his thanks, and rushed in the other direction, opposite of the dorms; his path was heading towards the teacher parking lot. She blinked, noting the forgotten texts Haku had left in his wake. "Oh, my...."

--

_He had awakened to the sight of disappearing stars, their existence fading away with the coming sun. His silky hair was ruffled, as he sat up, the snow nearly covering his entire being. He found his hands and feet to be severely numb, but brushed the prickling pain aside. The male stood, his legs wavering at first before allowing him to stand straight. Where was he?_

_Suddenly, the memory of the day before flooded back, like a rush of icy water sweeping suddenly through a desert. Of course, he had...._

_The boy turned around swiftly, seeing the cause of his sleeping outside during a snowfall. A man, with that same cold in his eyes of the drifting ice from the sky stared back, his hands in his pockets. The boy cracked a weary smile at the sight, despite all that he'd been through for this man's words._

_He'd said it would be good for him; that he was to do this if he wanted to never fall prey to others again. He was to prove he was more than some average human, and show no weakness. But, that was all the boy was: human. Even if he was made to not believe it himself, he still was._

_His life could have easily been stolen over the night by the untainted snow. Could this have been called attempted homicide? Or a mere child's stupidity? Ignorance, or trust...?_

_The boy's face was flushed a pale red, as he made his way to the elder man, before finally collapsing into the other's arms. He couldn't feel his legs anymore. Would he die....? He held onto the man's arms, his unfeeling fingers shaking in both fright and cold._

_The man looked down at the child, impassively, yet still holding him up. Did he honestly take such gratification out of the boy's torture? Was he some kind of sadistic madman?_

_Maybe so and maybe no...._

-

after notes: n.n; Heh. I really, really need to get better at these flashbacks... o.o;; Anywho, I've already got plans for the next couple chapters written up. XD And I've been loving the generous reviews you lovely girls and guys have been giving me. (dance dance revolutionizes) Hehe. I made this chapter longer for that. And, the next couple chapters will ((hopefully)) be just as long. Huzzah! Onto the reviews!!

((done in order of when they were given))

Fox: Thanky swanky! n.n; I try to make it interesting... I hope it continues to tickle your fancy in the future. XD

Renn: Really? Heh. I've sort of made Haku OOC here, because I honestly have no _real_ clue how he would act in this sort of situation. To be truthful, I based his character here on his battle tactics. Myah, like how his witty comments are fast-thought of? Yeah, based on how speedy he is in a fight. XD Pretty cheap, maybe but.... eh, I'm a cheap lady. Thanks for the review...!! (smile)

Yaoilover S: Cool, er, 'kool' with a 'k?' xDDD That'd be cool if you could draw a picture for the story. Myah, I don't want to force you to.... O.o; I keep trying to draw scenes myself, and even I find it sort of hard ((then again, I'm one of those people who don't like their own stories. x3;; )). But, if you want to.... (innocent smile) The uniforms are fairly plain, nothing sailor-fuku like or anything like that. Just a basic white shirt, with a blue and green plaid skirt that ends above the knee. Oh, and a dark blue bowtie. XD As for Sasuke (if you feel the need to include spike-boy there), he wears dark blue pants and a white shirt, with a dark blue tie. Myah, spiffy. I based them off of my own uniforms when I was in elementary school.... x3 Haku and Sasuke are just fine by themselves. Again, this is just if you really want to......! (grin) Thank you for your reviews, either way! (hug)

Chou ni Natte: Yay, the awesome-ness! XD I'll try to make the future chapters even better, so that your looking-forward-nesses won't be in vain! Thank you for reviewing!!

Sobe: Is it really? A cute story? (blush) I wasn't originally planning for Naruto to be in it at all, but what the hey. Now that I've written up the ideas for the future chapters, he's actually going to be playing a pretty good part. Heh. Yay, Naruto! Hahaha, SasuHaku usually makes you barf? Myah! (cheesy grin) Oh, but I try to put new light on these unpopular couplings. Hehe, so is it working in your case? Yesss.... Zabuza and Haku forever. Mwahaha. Who doesn't love racy things bordering on pedophilia and whatnot. (drool) I'm odd, but that's okay! XD .......... O.o;;;;; Now that you've brought up the idea of Zabuza-san high-jumping.... I will be forced to have recurring day-nighmares during class. (shivers) And why is it the thought of him being in Sano's shorts the thing that seems to frighten me most? -.-0 Oh my.....

V(ery) G(orgeous) Jekyll: Yes, it became Naruto after much reconsidering. And, the story is going to turn out better because of it! (grin) That someone else is to be left a secret... mwahahaha. The flashback won't be for a while... er, I think. O.o; (has to recheck her files) Anywho, the only flashbacks that have been playing up until this chapter are Haku and Zabuza ones. n.n; But, believe me, the person that Sasuke is with in his soon-to-come flashbacks ((which sounds fairly redundant)) is one of the people I think he really should be with. (innocent smile) Well, he _and_ Naruto-kun o' course. May as well include a threesome.... o.o;;;; Hm.

Review, folks! n.n That is what I run on...!! Reviews, comments on random things, and even flames...! Myah, but keep it stylish, kiddies. If it sucks, tell me _why_. XD


	5. Ribbon Heart

Info: Thank you all for your lovely reviews! Again, they will be answered in the end of this chapter. (grin) Even the threats sounded pretty. xDD This chapter is longer than usual, about 16 pages, due to the fact that I had to fit in a bunch of information. So, be ready for some intense reading. O.o; And, yes, Naruto and Zabuza will actually _talk_. And I'll be introducing even more characters as this story goes on.... so, maybe your favorite will pop up? Heh.

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto! Which is good, because then I'd be the one who has to deal with poorly written fanfics ((like this one)). XP

**Chapter 5 **— Ribbon Heart

-

He swerved around the school's corner, feet meeting with the grey pavement of the parking lot that belonged to the teacher staff. Haku's dark eyes glanced about, trying to catch a glimpse—any glimpse would have done—of his quarry, Zabuza Momochi. His dark eyes lightened once they caught sight of the man, just walking out of the double doors in the side of the school. His hands in his pockets, he looked about as nonchalant as ever, not noticing the frantic looking student watching him from afar.

Haku called out for Zabuza to wait. A single glance at the cross-dressing male, and the man continued onward, pretending not to have seen him. The teen clenched his fists in exasperation, getting tired of this game Zabuza played every time he tried to speak with the man.

Putting on another burst of speed, the young male rushed in front of Zabuza's path, blocking the man from getting to wherever it was he was going.

"Get out of my way," Zabuza ordered, glaring down at the false-female with his pale eyes. "I've no more use for you; I thought I told you that already." He just about stepped around Haku, when the younger male stopped him.

"You did," Haku replied, unmoving. "About four years ago, that is." His own eyes narrowed at the sight of Zabuza's glare, despite the look of inner-anguish that they held. "You may be finished with me, but I'm not yet finished with you."

"Huh." The ghoul-like man harshly shoved the boy aside, Haku landing sharply on his side. The ground scraped at his palms, but the younger male ignored the pain that soon seethed through his arms and the place of impact. "Such a romantic fool, Haku," Zabuza stated, no remorse in his words. Suddenly, a smirk that could only be seen in his death-like eyes appeared.

"You'd be perfect for this little search the school is making me do," he continued, his tone mocking a thoughtful sound. "I'm sure you've already seen the flyers. They're all over the bloody school, after all." An edge was hinted in those last words, showing his dislike for having to participate in such a thing. As far as Zabuza was concerned, whoever thought up this little idea should have dropped dead already. _'Put on a play. Really.... What kind of brainless moron thought of that?'_

"I have," Haku said, hesitantly getting up. He couldn't help but glance down at his hands, seeing the uneven flecks of red appearing where the ground had scraped against his skin. Haku looked back up, defiantly, brushing the dull pain in them and his side away. "And I think I will join your fun." For the first time since their meeting, he smirked.

"I also think that I'll prove you wrong," Haku continued. Zabuza stared at him, guardedly.

"Prove me wrong on what?" he questioned, his glowering stare still focused on the cross-dressing male. Haku had gone to great lengths to have a second chance at him. Going so far as dressing like a girl and putting on a false identity; it was incredulous, but at the same time beguiling. Two qualities that suited Yukio Haku to a tee.

"Whether or not I'm still useful to you," Haku answered. "And, I assure you, I still am." He arched a slender brow, almost boldly. "Perhaps even more so now, than before."

"Heh. Still the eccentric one," Zabuza remarked, turning to continue on his way. "Maybe you are. I still have to see for myself, won't I?" And with this, the man left Haku to stand by himself, finding the boy of his past to still hold some of the endearing traits he so found alluring.

As Haku watched Zabuza disappear into the confines of a car, and back out and drive away, he didn't move. Much like that time, so long ago, when the elder man had told him to stay where he was, and Haku had obeyed. He had obeyed Zabuza's every word and command, with nothing but a smile on his face. Why?

The same reason why Haku went through so much trouble just to see him again. After all this time, he still....

-

_'Within the village's limits, the three attempted (and sort of succeeded) to exorcise the people's glistening lake of its unwanted inhabitant, whom all thought was a terrible sea monster, but was actually—'___

Dark eyes ran over the words, their meaning soon lost with the sound of three soft knocks at the door. The male rolled his eyes, knowing it was coming sooner or later. Sasuke placed his book facedown on the bed, not even bothering to place his bookmark in the pages.

He walked to the door, clicking it open, his mouth open to say something. However he quickly reconsidered berating the person on the other side, seeing as how it definitely was not Haku.

"Ah? Hyuga...?" he asked, staring at the girl, confused. "What are you doing here?" Her cheeks colored at the sight of Sasuke, standing there behind the door.

"Um, uh..." She glanced down at the multiple books in her hands for an answer, Sasuke figuring it out sooner.

"Oh, Yukio forgot something?" he guessed, quirking an eyebrow. "Tch, ditz," Sasuke murmured, placing a hand out for her to give the books to. "I'll tell her off later, don't worry." Hinata hesitantly gave him the texts, nodding her head in reply.

"Uchiha-kun...?" Hinata said, after a short while of uneasy silence. "Uh, um, tell her sorry, for me, okay?" she requested, after stepping back from the dorm room's entrance.

"Sorry?" He repeated, looking at her skeptically. "What for....?"

"N-nothing. Never mind," Hinata quickly said, before hurrying away. Sasuke stared after where she had stood just moments before, obvious puzzlement in his usually stoic eyes. Shrugging it off, he shut the door, walking back to his previous spot of reading, after tossing Haku's textbooks onto 'her' bed.

Just as he was about to flip back over his own book, a thought struck him. "Wait..." Haku wasn't supposed to have homework yet; at least, not until Monday. He looked back over the hardcover books that lay, seemingly innocently on his roommate's bed. Maybe they weren't meant for homework.

Sasuke crawled over to the edge of his bed, suddenly feeling too lazy to just stand up and walk over to the textbooks. He leaned forward as far as he could, but to no avail; he had tossed them to the very end of Haku's covers. A scowl appearing on his face, he brought a hand forward and used it to hold up his weight on Haku's bed, so that he didn't fall between while he hovered over the space that was set amid both structures.

It probably looked silly, seeing Sasuke attempting to balance himself on both his and Haku's beds, while trying to strain himself to read the titles of his roommate's books. And he half succeeded, at that, catching the bold-lettered name of _Dragonflight_ on one, but missing the rest of a half-covered text, titled something that had the words "Renegades of" in it.

"Hn... a dragon fan," he commented aloud, knowing full well the series that both books were a part of, without even having to finish reading the other book's title. Sasuke shifted his weight back onto his knees, which were just barely still on the edge of his bed. He was just about to get back to where he was, when a sudden banging noise shook his entire being. And, the inevitable happened; the spiky-haired male lost his ill-placed balance and fell through the open space below him, landing less than perfectly on the carpet.

The rabid knocking on the door continued, ceasing to appease his incited anger and annoyance.

"What the hell?!" he cursed, heaving himself up on his hands, before lifting onto his feet. _'Dammit if this is Yukio...!'_ Sasuke didn't even bother to put up an indifferent front when he swung open the door, his fierce stare soon matched with that of his roommate's.

"You shouldn't yell like that, Uchiha-kun," Haku pointed out, mockingly, despite the impatient look he was shooting off. He made his way inside, not even taking a second look at the death glare Sasuke was also giving him. "Besides... what were you doing jumping around?" Once he reached his bed, Haku turned around to face Sasuke, the question still lingering in the air. "Well?"

"I wasn't jumping," Sasuke heatedly returned. "What were _you_ doing scaring the lights out of people with your incessant knocking?!"

All he got in reply was a barely audible, "Hn," as Haku ripped the headband out of his hair and tossed it aside, casually. Sighing, exasperatedly, Sasuke collapsed back down on his bed, grabbing at the text that still laid there, its pages still facing downward. He went back to reading it, lying lazily on his covers for a good while, until Haku spoke again.

"What do you think, Uchiha-kun?" he asked, his own position mirroring Sasuke's, lying face up on his bed, but staring at the ceiling rather than the words of a book.

"Of what?" Sasuke questioned, not taking his eyes off the pages. He was still bothered with Haku, and he showed it whenever he refused to look at the other boy and spoke even less than usual, if that was possible.

Haku turned his head slightly, to gaze at the brooding male. "Of me acting. Do you think I should join those auditions?" Of course, he was going to, whether Sasuke agreed or not. Haku merely wanted to see his reaction.

"Yeah, whatever," Sasuke remarked, wanting no more of the current conversation. He didn't feel like talking at the moment, and it didn't help that Haku was asking for _his_ opinion on something.

Haku sat up, a scowl on his face. "You're not answering my question."

"I just did."

He crawled to the end of his covers, before flopping back down, and resting his chin on his arms, crossed in front of him. "No you're not. Give me a real answer."

"That _was_ real," the dark-eyed male seethed, still refusing to look over at the cross-dresser.

Haku shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke still noticed this, and it only proved to fuel his annoyance. The 'girl' edged closer, and while she was still a length away, he could still feel her enigmatic stare upon him. What was she getting at? "Tell me the truth," Haku said. "Do you think I could act?"

He took a deep breath, whether out of breaking point frustration, or defeat, Haku would never know. Sasuke shifted his dark gaze to the cross-dresser, one brow raised. However, when he spoke, his words were far from an answer to Haku's question. "Why... pray tell, do you never give up?"

Haku smiled, rousing a puzzled frown from Sasuke. "Because...." he replied, suddenly flipping over so that he watched Sasuke upside-down. Haku's gaze never faltered, despite the nonplussed look he was receiving from the other male. "I always aim to get what I want." He instantly sat back up, and reached his hands for the ceiling, stretching them out.

Sasuke made a mumbled noise, sounding like, "Go figure," and returned to the confines of his book. Haku twisted back around, leaning on one arm.

"And, if I'm mistaken, you also do the same," he added, a smirk in his tone. Sasuke snapped his attention back to Haku, a glare returning in his expression as the false-female laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Mer, nothing..." Haku replied, before easing off of his bed, and linking his arms behind his back, with mock innocence. "That is, if by nothing, I mean Uzumaki-kun."

Sasuke jolted up, slamming his book down closed on his covers. "Damn you, Yukio...!"

Haku smirked again. "Heh, I know." And with that, before Sasuke could knock him out with his text, he hid inside the sanctuary that was their shared washroom. Pulling a towel off the wall, Haku locked the door, and leaned up against it, nonchalantly.

Sasuke glared at the shut door, his hands gripping at the sheets that covered his bed angrily. "She always _does_ that," he remarked, before lying back once more, his head swirling with revenge plots. Not even the worst of his fan girls could annoy him like this. Maybe because Haku wasn't one of them? _'Hn.__ Most likely.'_

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Haku stripped himself of his uniform. The skirt slipped off easily, considering that it was made for a girl's hips. He pulled off the shirt, after loosening the bowtie he had to wear, and forgot that he was wearing something else underneath.

A bra, of course. A sports one, though, seeing as how anything else would have been pointless. Why was he wearing it? For visual effect. He knew white, school girl's shirts were bound to be a tad see-through; and besides, it certainly helped him act like a girl. No harm done, even to his masculine pride (if, that is, there was any trace of it left).

Perhaps the trickiest things he had to deal with when it came to sharing a room with Sasuke were showering and changing. There was always that chance that he would forget to lock the door, and what if Sasuke caved in to his natural, male perverseness? Though, perhaps a bit of that thought was slightly vain, on Haku's part. He shrugged it off. After all, what red-blooded teenage boy could resist a chance like this?

He rolled his eyes. _'Most likely Uchiha, of all people.'_ As far as the cross-dresser was concerned at that moment, living with Sasuke was like living with a pet rock; nothing to fear except the embarrassment of being caught sleeping in the same bed as it.

Haku smirked at the thought, before stepping into the warm, running water of the shower. Might as well share baths with the guy, he thought, amused. _'Not like he would notice I'm not a girl. ...probably doesn't even know what the anatomy of the female body looks like....'_

-

The bathroom door flung back open, a sudden rush of cold seeping into the heated space where Haku had just been showering. He sighed, the feeling bringing back nostalgia of something that had happened a long time ago. Something concerning the snow and waking to the fading stars....

His towel was wrapped tightly around him, the male making sure to put it high enough so that it covered his chest, and yet low enough so that his cover still wasn't blown. Haku's hair hung limply around his shoulders, trailing like a black river down his back, as the teen approached his dresser, pulling open the top drawer before snatching random articles of clothing out of it.

"You need to remember to do that _before_hand," Sasuke stated, putting emphasis on his words. He was seated in front of one of the desks the school had put in every room, and was, luckily, facing away from the washroom door.

"I always forget," Haku apologized, smiling sheepishly. It was true, but it didn't matter much. Sasuke didn't try peeking... or, at least he hadn't caught the brooding male doing so, yet.

Sasuke made a sound of impatience. He was currently buried in his math homework, mentally cursing Kakashi for his inability to teach the subject properly. Writing down the answers in pencil, he paused, in thought. And then, the sudden drips of water came out of nowhere, soaking into his math book's pale pages.

"What the...?" He looked up, only to see a bemused looking Haku leaning over his shoulder. "Yukio?!" Sasuke quickly averted his eyes, a blush falling across his face.

"The answer is 5_i_ plus—"

"I don't care...!" the male insisted, cutting off his currently nude dorm mate's words. "J-just hurry up and go away. Come back out when you're decent or something."

Haku looked at him, blinking. "Hn. Fine," he finally replied, turning. "Wait until I'm 'decent,' then I'll help you." As he walked away, Sasuke cautiously turned around in his seat, watching Haku as 'she' returned to the confines of behind the bathroom door.

_'Have to admit, she has a nice ass,_' he couldn't help but mentally compliment, silently berating himself soon after for even turning to look. _'Dammit, I'm bloody sick.'_ Sasuke cursed himself, wondering if he could kill himself with lead poisoning by stabbing his eyes out.

A few moments later, Haku was back out, totally unaware of the aforementioned perverted thoughts Sasuke was attempting to beat down in his head. "_Now_ do you want my help?"

"No," Sasuke curtly answered, tapping his pencil against the wooden desk. He was, obviously, still stuck for answers, but wasn't about to ask for assistance from his roommate. _'_Ass-_istance__...'_ he mused, the thought soon followed by a strangled groan.

Haku stared at Sasuke's back, bewildered. "U-Uchiha-kun....?" He had stopped brushing his hair, thinking that the other male was choking on his own brains from too much thinking.

"I said, no helping...!" Sasuke remarked, soon crossing his arms while leaning back in his seat. _'That's it! I give up on this homework.'_ He had a good mind to break his pencil in half. _'I'll just guess on the rest and do whatever when a test comes up....'_

Haku pouted. "Fine. But I'm not letting you cheat off my paper when the test comes around."

Sasuke jolted his chair straight again, nearly falling out of it. "I wasn't going to _do_ that," he protested, a scowl heard in his tone. He turned, standing out of the chair and shutting his textbook closed, before shoving it and his pencil into his bag, which had been propped up lazily against the side of the desk.

"I'm so sure," Haku said, sarcasm hinting his voice. Sasuke ignored it, however, rapt by something else. Haku was turned around, facing his mirror while brushing his long hair, the only thing he had on being a very large t-shirt along with some very short shorts.

The cross-dresser wore similar things to this every night, not exactly one for flowery or more feminine wears. However, due to the previous happenings of the night, Sasuke was more enthralled in it than before. Never _noticing_-noticing it before, Sasuke saw that Haku had much nicer legs than he gave 'her' credit for. This, again, forced him to bring upon himself another mental cursing, which was duly cut off by Haku's own statement.

"Agh, darn it!" the unwitting victim of the stare-down cried, dropping 'her' brush. She reached down to get it, rousing another blush in the spiky-haired male behind her.

Sasuke hastily snapped out of his daze, turning away. "Ugh.... now _I_ need a shower...," he mumbled, feeling the heat in his face.

"What?" Haku turned, hearing his voice, but Sasuke had already disappeared behind the door. Shrugging, he returned to the attention of his locks, brushing out the ends with little more thought to the matter.

-

A glimmer in the morning sunlight caught his eye, flashing and calling for his attention. "Sakura-chan? What's that you have on your finger?" Haku motioned to the pink-haired girl's left hand, where a silver ring was beset on her ring finger. The two were walking to school together, as they had done the days before. Sasuke hadn't even waited up for Haku that morning, which had confused him to no end seeing as how the brooding male usually was the one who woke him. Haku merely presumed that maybe Sasuke had decided to stop by Uzumaki's house before school.

"Are you engaged...?" he asked, mocking her.

She snorted. "Hardy-har-har." Sakura brought the hand up to her view, seeming to admire the way the sun reflected through the blue and white crystals, though she was the one who owned it. "Don't tell me you have never seen something like this before." He shook his head no, still watching the light dance off the ring's silver exterior. She quirked an eyebrow, taken aback.

"What? But, Sasuke-kun has the same exact thing," Sakura explained, furrowing her brows in confusion. Haku blinked.

"Does he, really?" He pouted in thought. "I've never exactly stared at his hands before, so I wouldn't know...."

She looked at him, as if expecting an explanation of her own._ 'So what, does that mean you were staring at mine?'_ Sakura wanted to ask that, but didn't. "You live with the guy, how can you not notice?"

Haku shrugged. "He doesn't interest me." That was lie. Of course Sasuke interested him, just not in the way he interested the fan girls or Sakura. It was more of an intriguing interest; he wanted to know more about Sasuke than just his stupid glares and scowls.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "That's not what I mean," she stated, her tone showing that she was not impressed. "You two have shared that room for five days now. You haven't even caught a glimpse of him in the shower!"

"He thinks I'm a girl...!" Haku returned. "Besides, even if he knew I wasn't, he most likely wouldn't let me see him nude anyway. And... weren't you the one who told me to stay away from him?"

She ignored the last comment, more or less focusing on the first two statements. "Ah me, oh my, did I just hear a sigh of longing?" It was Sakura's turn to mock Haku, as a grin spread madly across her face.

"Oh, just stop already." Haku quickened his pace, Sakura having to hurry to catch up.

"I was just kidding...!" she apologized, Haku glancing at her with dark eyes. "Geez, what? Did something happen last night?"

He slowed, sighing for real this time, though it definitely wasn't one of longing. At least not for Sasuke. "Sort of. I guess it wasn't a big deal, considering we've only known each other for less than a week, but..."

"But...?" she urged.

"I'm most definitely sure he hates me," Haku stated, bluntly. Sakura blinked, nonplussed.

"W-what? What makes you think that?" Sure, Sasuke was cruel, cold, indifferent, and a busload of other things, but that doesn't mean he hates people. Or, well, maybe it did, if he was another person. But this was Uchiha Sasuke they were talking about! He would probably act the same way towards his own brother! ((a.n.- Ah, Sakura... the bliss of ignorance is as sweet as your hair is pink. XD))

"Did he _tell_ you he hates you...?" she asked, hesitantly. He shook his head.

"Didn't have to," Haku replied. "I can tell these things." He had experience, it was true. After all, the boy grew up with nearly nothing but hate aimed at him from almost every direction, save for the few bits of kindness he received.

For the rest of the walk to class, the two were silent, Haku's words still echoing in Sakura's head, as he thought of other things.

As soon as they entered Kakashi's class, they were surprised to find the teacher already there; however, his nose was still buried within volume two of _Come Come Paradise_. Sakura sighed, exasperatedly, as Haku sat himself down next to Sasuke's desk.

_'Well, at least I know he hasn't run away with Uzumaki... yet,'_ Haku mentally remarked, glancing at the spiky-haired male out of the corner of his eye. And then, he remembered Sakura's words.

_"What? But, Sasuke-kun has the same exact thing."_ Looking up at Sasuke's left hand, which, at that time, was being used for his head to lean against, tiredly, he saw the familiar shine of silver and blue. It was true.

"That ring..." He stopped himself abruptly, not even realizing he had been speaking aloud. Sasuke turned his head ever so slightly in Haku's direction.

"What...?" The word, simple as it was, sounded irritated. Haku frowned, though he wasn't surprised.

He turned his attention elsewhere. "Nothing. Just thinking out loud."

Haku faintly heard a sound of impatience, followed by incoherent mumblings. _'Hn,__ thinks I can't hear him....'_

However, the curiosity of the subject still bubbled under the surface. Why did both Sasuke and Sakura have the same rings on? Were they friendship rings or something else? And did Naruto know about all this? Finally, he spoke up again, wanting to get the question out _before_ the final bell rang. "Why do you have the same ring as Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke looked back at the cross-dresser, arching a brow. _'So now he wants to talk?'_ He peeked down at the adornment that encircled his left ring finger, much like an engagement ring would. "_I_ don't have the same ring as her. She, and pretty much the rest of the girls here, have the same ring as _me_."

Haku's brows wrinkled in confusion. "That doesn't make sense..."

"Yes, it does," he said. "Some random fan girl thought it would be cute if she copied my ring and made it look like she and I were a couple, and then all the rest of them did the same. Including your beloved Sakura-chan."

"And what of you?" The cross-dressing male smirked. "Where did you get your beloved ring?" he inquired, mocking Sasuke's use of words.

He simply stated, "A friend," and then the bell rang. As soon as it did so, their conversation ended, and Haku chose not to bring back up again, even when class ended.

-

Haku looked up at the large building that was structured beside the school, their foundation similar to one another. He was standing before the school theater, after classes had ended, the mid-afternoon sun reflecting rays of light orange onto the building's usually pale walls.

The sudden presence of another person was made known to him, as Haku swirled around, expecting Zabuza. However, it was someone else. "Oh... Hyuga-chan..." he murmured, slightly relieved, yet at the same time also disappointed.

Hinata nodded her greeting, apparently having been surprised by Haku's reaction to her standing there. "Uh... what are you doing outside....?" she finally asked, after a few moments of heavy silence.

He snapped back to her attention, after staring at the ground. "Oh? Er, just readying myself for what lies ahead..." Haku answered, his words being a half-truth.

She nodded once again. "Y-yeah, me too." Another few moments of silence.

_'She's uber-quiet...'_ Haku mused, trying to keep from eye contact with her. Every time their sight connected, he found himself staring, despite his better thoughts. _'Her eyes are so... mesmeric...'_ He cleared his throat. "I... I think we should go in, now," he finally said, Hinata agreeing (as he supposed she would).

When they entered, a blast of cool air was what met them, along with the dimly lit interior of the building. Just ahead was a stage, where it seemed like all the light in the place was coming from. There were rows upon rows of seats surrounding them, as well, with a lighted path lining the walkways up to the stage.

The two followed it, Haku halting as soon as he saw Zabuza's form, lounged in a chair right by the aisle, in the front row. Hinata didn't catch his stop nearly as quickly, and accidentally bumped into Haku, stepping back nearly as quickly with a brisk apology breathed out.

However, the cross-dressing boy didn't notice. All he saw at the moment was Zabuza, who chose not to look back at him. Chose not to. He knew perfectly well that Haku was there, staring, but the morbid man chose not to stare back, with those ice-cold eyes of his. On his other side was a woman with dark hair, her fierce eyes watching the stage with an unwavering stare. Haku recognized her as Yuhi Kurenai, having seen her and Sakura talk in the halls once; apparently, the woman was also one of the writing teachers.

Hinata tapped Haku on the shoulder, timidly. "What are you looking at...?" she asked, unaware of the past he and Zabuza shared. "The stage is up there....."

He shook his head, dispelling the daze. "I-I know... I'm just...." Haku anxiously brushed a hand through his hair, and turned away from Zabuza, pretending to put his attention to the stage. However, his thoughts still lingered on the man.

"Hey." Both Haku and Hinata turned towards the voice. It was Kurenai, staring at them both, from the other side of Zabuza. "Are you trying out or not?" Almost at once, both nodded curtly. "Then go backstage and wait for your cue to come out and show us what you got," she stated, waving them away.

This time, Haku followed Hinata, having never been in the theater building before. When they got there, they found a surprisingly large amount of other girls, waiting for their turn.

"Wow..." murmured Haku, his eyes counting the number that were before himself. "I didn't think we had so many aspiring actresses." He smiled, and Hinata nodded in accord.

"To be truthful, they aren't here to act," she admitted, rousing slight surprise in the cross-dressing boy.

He looked at her skeptically. "Then... what _are_ they here for...?" he asked, slowly.

"For the lead in Ribbon Heart," Hinata simply stated.

"Well, yes, obviously."

She shook her head. "Not just because it's the lead. It's because who the school is making to play opposite of the lead." Hinata placed her index finger and thumb on her chin in thought. "Or, maybe I should have said forced...."

Sudden revelation jolted through Haku. _'Don't tell me....'_

Hinata looked up at him, questioningly. "Isn't that why you're trying out?" He warily glanced down at her, arching a brow. "Because Uchiha-kun is going to be in it?"

At the sound of his name, a few of the girls in front of them gasped, quite audibly, looking around. "Where?!" one harshly whispered, her hands seeming to dig into her friends' arms.

"Is he here? Will he be watching...?" another asked, and before Haku and Hinata knew it, girls backstage were nothing but a bunched of shushed shrieks and longing sighs.

He couldn't help it. Haku rolled his eyes, impatiently. "....fan girls...." he mumbled, causing Hinata to look up at him, nonplussed.

"What was that?" she asked, having to raise her voice a bit higher than its usual, quiet state so that she could be heard over the rest of the bustling girls. He shook his head, mouthing, 'Nothing,' and she nodded, still looking a little confused.

Pretty soon, Kurenai came backstage, telling the girls to shush or else they wouldn't get to audition. They quieted down before she finished her sentence, a triumphant smirk on the woman's face as she went back down to the audience chairs.

While they were waiting, Haku kept his mind in thought. He wouldn't have minded talking, really, because they were still allowed to whisper, but Hinata was a very silent girl. She seemed just fine staring into space, her hands wringing each other in what seemed like unease.

_'Why didn't he tell me he was stuck doing this play?'_ Haku mused, his arms folded in front of his chest. _'Was that why he wouldn't give me a straight answer last night...? Or does he even know yet?'_ A scowl found its way onto his expression, though Haku lacked noticing it.

_'I wonder if Uzumaki will go to the play if Uchiha's in it...'_ he suddenly wondered, tilting his head. _'Was he the one who gave Sasuke that ring? Maybe.... Does Hyuga have one?'_ Fueled by his inquisitive nature, Haku glanced down, inconspicuously at Hinata's left hand, which was currently being squeezed to death by the other hand.

There. Even in the shadow of the curtains that blocked nearly all the onstage light from going behind it, he could see that now all-too recognizable silver band. _'So, Hyuga is another one of Sasuke's groupies?'_ He couldn't help smirking. And all this time, Haku had thought she would be too timid to even look Sasuke in the face, much less copy his ring.

Peering down the line of girls, which had shortened very much over the past few minutes, he saw that nearly all of them were wearing a silver ring, studded with white and blue crystals, on their fingers. And the ones that weren't were actually wearing it around their necks, on chains._ 'He could start his own line of jewelry...'_

"Hey... Hyuga," he muttered, getting her attention. She looked up at him again, Haku having to avoid eye contact with her once more to keep from staring. "Is Uchiha-kun the reason why you're auditioning?"

Hinata's gaze lowered, allowing Haku to se her face. "Well... sort of." She hesitated, before adding, "I actually... I want to get over being shy Hyuga Hinata, you know...?" He quirked a brow, slightly surprised with her answer. "But, yes, Uchiha still a part of the reason, though." She blushed lightly, rousing a lopsided smile from Haku. "After all, there _is_ a... a k-kissing scene in the play....." she managed to say, though the last words were a large amount quieter than the rest. Haku heard them very, very clearly however, and winced.

Sure, he had kissed Sasuke before, but it was very, very late, and he was very, very tired.... and Haku had come to the conclusion that he had gone momentarily insane at that point. After all, the shock of finding out that Sasuke was gay, and then finding him lying in Haku's bed plus a couple of other factors had to eventually build up. And, it just so happened that all of this finally toppled over in the form of a kiss between both roommates. One that he was sworn to never tell anyone, not that he wanted to anyway. Legions of fan girls are very hard to run from, after all....

They didn't speak again after that, Haku returning to his thoughts, and Hinata just returning to staring into nothingness. Finally, after a short while, it was Hinata's turn. At this point, Haku was becoming slightly nervous, more or less, but only because of the fact that either way, he'd be in trouble. If Haku didn't make it, he lost his chance (though, he still wasn't entirely sure what he would be proving just by acting well). If he did, he had to play opposite of Uchiha Sasuke in a play of romantic comedy. It sounded all too much like a cheesy soap opera to him.

And then, the distinct voice of Kurenai came, yelling out, "Next!" like she had been doing for everyone who tried out. He flinched, freezing at first, until the girl behind him whispered, "She said _next_...!" Haku found his legs, and walked into the stage, not even bothering to shield his eyes from the sudden burst of light that was waiting. Another teacher was there, holding the sheet with the lines on it. He handed it off to Haku, and stepped back.

The woman, Kurenai, was watching him, anticipating whatever it was he was going to do, but Zabuza obviously could care less. Haku became frustrated at his lack of concern, but didn't show it. No, now the teen had to one-up him by getting this part. A mental smirk appeared in his head, and Haku looked down at the lines.

And he performed.

-

She turned the corner, one hand clenched tightly to the straps of her backpack, slung over her left shoulder. Her ring rubbed against the nylon, like how the wind picked up and started whishing through her pink tinted hair.

Sakura had not even bothered to drop her bag off in her dorm; once the bell rung for the end of school, she took off for Uzumaki Naruto's house.

The girl still remembered where he lived. How could she forget? The twit _had_ handed her off so many notes that stated his address, Sakura had memorized it. Of course, just in case, it helped to have a phone book in your dorm room.

A glare was beset in her eyes, as Sakura seemed to stomp down the sidewalk. Unseen, within the confines of her backpack, the Naruto doll was packed away, the girl wondering if any of her torture methods had worked. She knew Sasuke still left his room to see Naruto, so Sakura knew that he couldn't have been dead. That was, unless Sasuke wasn't out seeing anyone _else_, on the side.

Turn this corner, walk a few blocks. Turn that corner, walk a few blocks. _'How in the world did Sasuke get to and from on time?!'_ She came to the resolution that maybe they only saw each other for a few seconds, and then it was back to the dorm with Sasuke. Still... who knew what one could accomplish in such a short time.

Sakura shook her head. What was she thinking?! _'That's it! No more devising plans to take pictures of Sasuke in the shower....!!'_ She paused, her pace stopping just as instantly. _'No, _keep_ devising plans. One day they'll work....'_ Sakura continued walking, her feet moving even faster.

Just one more turn and— Sakura shrieked, falling backwards. However, hands caught her before she could go all the way down, the girl breathing harshly from shock. She glared up at the one who nearly knocked her down, pushing herself away. "Ugh, don't touch me, pervert...!"

"Sakura-chan?" She blinked. Looking back up, a very familiar pair of blue eyes gazed back. "Hey...! Look, I'm finally taller than you!"

"Wha... Naruto!" Sakura stepped even farther away, cynically. "J-just who do you think you are, groping defenseless women like that?!"

He tilted his head. "Sorry, but you were the one who attacked me head-on." She merely glared in return. Naruto _had_ gotten taller, but it was only by a very, very little bit. Still, it bothered her that this boy, whom she used to be able to intimidate with just her height, was suddenly the one looking down.

".... hey, just what the heck do you think you're doing, anyway?" she asked, one brow twitching.

Naruto gazed upward in thought. "Well, I guess I was just walking around..."

"Not that, moron!" she insulted him, pulling her bag off her shoulder and rummaging in it. Finally, Sakura pulled out a notebook, and a pencil, before sketching something down on it. Naruto watched, highly confused, until she shoved the notebook in his face. "This!!"

He held it farther away, studying the picture. "Oh...." he smirked, laughing. "This is a pretty good picture of two lollipops stuck together, Sakura-chan...!" The exasperated girl growled.

She had to draw a picture because, well... if she could, Sakura would have shown him an actual photograph. However, this was all she could do. "It's not two lollipops, stupid!" she cried, ripping the notebook out of his hands.

"That could've given me a papercut—"

"I don't care," Sakura cut him off, stuffing it back into her backpack. "What... are... _you_... doing smooching..... _my_ Sasuke-kun...!"

He looked stunned, sky-colored eyes wide. "What...?" Naruto tried to remember the picture she had drawn. "Wait, that was supposed to be me?"

Sakura clenched her fists at either side of her, beginning to get fed up with the blonde before her. "Tell me, what do you think you're doing with him?!"

He stopped, arching a brow. "Well... I don't know. Why, did he tell you something?"

"No, I found out by myself."

"Ah... still the Sasuke-stalker, as always," he mused, earning him a good whapping by Sakura. He backed away, covering his head with both hands. "I was just kidding...!"

"You _always_ are." She frowned, crossing her arms. "So...?"

"So, what?" Naruto was beginning to look impatient. He was happy to see Sakura again, and all, but if she was just going to abuse him, he may as well be on his merry way.

"Tell me...!"

He sighed. "No." Naruto avoided another one of Sakura's attacks, before holding her hands back. "I can't...!" he explained, gaining only a scowl from the girl. "Sasuke told me not to."

She pulled her arms away from his grip. "So? Tell me anyway!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"You already know the truth, right?" She nodded. "Then just fill in the blanks or whatever...! I'm sure you've already done that anyway." Sakura was about to protest, her cheeks colored from his accusation, but Naruto turned and walked away.

"....H-hey...!!" However, he merely waved, without any answer after. Sakura glowered. _'I wanted to know for sure...'_

-

After notes: Meow. (claws the air) The play they are auditioning for ((and that Sasuke is being forced to be in)), Ribbon Heart, is something I made up on the spot. n.n;;;; I needed to have made up lines for a scene in the future and I didn't feel like studying up on Romeo and Juliet... which is done too many times to count, anyway. -.-0 Heh, I made Haku a DRoP fan. I was just doing something random, don't worry about it. Oh, and that excerpt Sasuke was reading at the beginning of the second part of this chapter is something from a story _I'm_ writing. (shrugs) Again, didn't feel like reading up on stuff. Now, the reviews!!

((in order they were given))

VG Jekyll – Hey! You made your name easier to write! xDD I'm just joking... ((or am I? O.o;)). Anywho, you got your wish of more Naruto and Zabuza. Well, it was bound to happen anyway but... hey! Might as well say your wish was granted, eh? X3 I'll cherish this voodoo doll of yourself. (grin) Don't worry, Sakura-chan won't get her hands on it. :3

Ramen-sama – That's a lot of "really"s. (ebil smile) Hey, look, more Zabuza appearances! I love Zabuza, cuz he's fairly easy to write. O.o; Or... maybe I'm just making him OOC. (glances about warily) Mwa, rapage is always loved. x3 That's a good idea you had. I was originally thinking of having Sasuke cheat on Naruto with someone else, but then I went with an idea that is currently under wraps. Meaning, secret. xD

A Random Person – Mer, you'll have to wait to find out. (quirks an eyebrow) I like to think I'm secretive.

Monkey Shoes – Thank you! Hehe!

Renn – Indeedy do. I think I made him a little OOC but... o.o;;; Ah, well. I think I made him all better in this chapter. Mer, or maybe worse.... (sigh)

Thank you all!! n.n Review, please...!


	6. Curtains and Windows

Info: Thank you for the reviews, and I am **_TERRIBLY_** sorry for not updating earlier... (sob) I blame my sudden er... o.o; Erm.... (is trying to think up a good excuse) Uh... well, I blame my sudden lack of wanting to write anything. -.-0 I couldn't call it writer's block, because this entire time I knew what was going to happen to this fanfic... maybe a few surprises, but.... Well, it's here now, so no crying! xD

**Warning: **Sasuke... is a tad OOC in this chapter. Even if you don't think he is, I do. Therefore, I'm putting this warning up.... oh, and Haku's fairly OOC every chapter... though this time he actually gets halfway IC! Huzzah. And Sakura is as crazy as ever. (grin)

Disclaimer – Take the topic _Naruto_, google it, then see the amount of entries you get. Come ON, someone like me could never make up an idea that would get that many sites on it. Unless I seriously invested time and energy, but obviously I can't even do that with a simple fanfic.... (lament)

**Chapter 6 — **Curtains and Windows

-

School productions. With their shoddy workmanship, ill-performed pieces, and jacked up prices, it was a wonder that the schools creating these things gained any profit at all. Yet, students' praiseful parents were a constant sight at them, never paying any real attention to detail but only caring that their children were onstage and... "stars."

Yes, even the ones who played the awkwardly swaying and singing flowers were "stars." There were never small parts, those parents believed, just small actors. Or small lines. Whichever floated your boat, they said.

He despised school hosted whatnots merely for this factor. What use did Uchiha Sasuke have for them, when he didn't _have_ parents to come to them? When he didn't have parents to brag and boast embarrassingly about whatever random talents he held? None. And yet, the boy was being forced—yes, _forced_—by the faculty of St. Ruto's School for Girls—_girls_, dammit—to perform in their play. He wasn't in it last year, so why now? It would have been mind boggling, if it were not for the obvious reason as to why.

_Damn the one who chose to do a romance bit,_ Sasuke mentally cursed. He was walking along the sidewalk, the setting sun still lingering on his right. Sasuke was headed for the school's theater building, much to his dislike. He couldn't see the point in all of it; why not just a comedy bit? There's nothing to complain about in those. Or even tragedy... anything but romance. Well, maybe if it was a romance that didn't have to include him— _Don't__ even go there._

He checked his watch. Almost five.... Today was the day for auditions. No, of course _he _didn't have to audition, but the teachers running the play wanted him to be there to see the girls act. It would give them inspiration, Kurenai had said, knowing full well that Sasuke was the picture of Adonis for nearly every female student. And, the boy knowing that she knew this, figured that he might as well be late. Anything to change their minds... Their sick, sadistic minds.

Sasuke stopped a shudder before it could even happen, as the thought of him onstage with whoever was his costar, kissing. A grim look crossed his expression. _It could be worse... as long as..._ His hand stopped on the door handle of the theater building, hovering above the gold painted metal. _As long as it isn't..._

The handle flew down without him even touching it. Sasuke, along with his hand, jumped back as the door zipped open. A mass of girls was soon streaming out of it, hardly paying any heed to Sasuke. For once in his life, anyway. He looked over the crowd, noting the cross looks on some of the girls' faces.

_Oh, please don't let it be worse..._

He waited until the doorway was clear, then made his way into the building. _Don't let it be worse, as long as it isn't—_ Sasuke looked this way and that, the darkness making the atmosphere even more suspenseful. _Just don't let it be..._ The stage was the only thing illuminated, its oak flooring made white by the bright light streaming across it. The aisles seemed to close the distance between Sasuke and the stage. Or was that him?

Voices. Behind the curtain, no doubt. Unseen, but faintly heard. Looking over to the side of the stage, he saw the steps leading up. Sasuke walked up them, and to the velvet curtain that would soon hang behind him in three months, when the play would go on. It probably used to be entirely red and soft, but the years obviously made this curtain stained and crusted with God knows what.

He didn't dare touch it. Though, now the voices were clearer. The distinct voice of a woman. Two more... Sasuke turned his head. What were they saying? He instantly brought his head back, stepping backwards. What was he doing?! It wasn't like it was a secret, right? Whatever they were discussing, he would eventually know.

Suddenly, the curtains flung apart, startling Sasuke to the point of nearly falling backwards off the stage. A curious look met him in the guise of Kurenai.

"Uchiha?" He nodded, as if to confirm her question. She frowned. "You're quite late, boy. Where were you? Those poor girls wouldn't have been so disappointed if you were at least _here_."

Sasuke stood straight again, having been in an awkward position after being startled half to death. "Eh... I... forgot?" _Stupid,_ he scolded himself, knowing he could have made up a much better excuse. "I mean..." _What kind of better excuse?_ "... I got caught up in my homework and... yeah." _Not like that's much better, Uchiha...._

Kurenai's eyebrows furrowed. "Right..." Despite her answer, he could tell that the teacher still had her suspicions. "Well, Mochi-san is currently informing the girl—" _Oh, God don't let it be worse!_ "—about the exact piece you two will be starring in. You may go back there to listen, or wait out here." Before Sasuke could say anything in return, Kurenai turned and trotted down the steps on her black high heels, her shoes making a sharp noise against the wood of the steps, before turning into a more muffled click on the theater's tiled and carpeted flooring.

Returning his attention to the once-velvet curtain, Sasuke suddenly became all too aware of the rising tone behind them. Arguing? He found himself standing close to it once more, straining to hear more despite his better reasoning. _Why are you doing this? So the girl gets a bit too emotional about a simple play..._ The sound of something—someone?—falling. _And aggressive.__ Just step back, it's probably just—_ Then, a cry of defiance.

_... this isn't..._ All too quickly, the voices became much clearer, much sharper, than before. Each statement was repeated again in Sasuke's head after he heard them, as if he were trying to memorize them, in case he had to recite them later on.

"Why did you follow me here? You should have just stayed in your perfect home, where I left you." Hadn't he heard these somewhere before? "At least then you wouldn't have to deal with nonsense."

"Perfect?" A derisive, bark of a laugh followed. "Only when I was with you was anything perfect. And even then... now that I remember, it was all so tainted, as well..." The sentence seemed to fade at the end, and disappear into the air.

"Like that snow." Why was this voice so sharp? It was like a knife at one's throat... Sasuke could feel its edge digging into his skin. "What a beautiful death that would have been, had you frozen during the night."

"But I didn't. And I know you didn't want me to die, then."

"Is that why you insisted on staying awake rather than succumb to the bitter cold?" Why could Sasuke suddenly feel his breath turn to ice in front of him? Why could he see himself wandering in the pit of a glacier? His hands automatically brought themselves against his arms. There was a sudden block of chill on the bare skin of his right arm, where his left hand had rubbed against it; Sasuke could feel it was his ring.

"I can't leave you alone!"

"Are you sure it isn't the other way around?"

"Maybe..." A hesitant word. "But then that would mean it goes both ways."

"Hah. I've been living fine without a kid like you fogging up my view."

"Is that why you're living like a criminal?"

There were no words after this, at least not for a while. Sasuke wanted to interject at this pause, to put in his own input. But what would it consist of? What would he say had he the chance? He decided it would be better to keep his mouth shut, just as the reply came.

"There are more reasons for that than what you think you know."

"Zabuza-san, I know what you did...." Who? Who did she say was the other? "That's _why_ I came out here. I said I can't leave you alone."

"You know nothing. You never did, and you only think you do. Get out of here, I don't care to talk to brats about anything right now—"

"But, Za—"

"Leave, Haku!"

"Zabuza-san...!" Haku's words sounded pleading... full of tears. As if Haku was sorry for whatever it was that this 'Zabuza' had done.

A sound of someone's steps stomping over. Sasuke immediately found his legs, though it took awhile before he realized where the stage's stairs were. He rushed to them as quietly as he could, believing that whatever sound he made would somehow be louder than the current ruckus being made behind the curtains. The instant he touched the bottom step, the familiar sound of curtain rings being slid across a metal pole signaled that the velvet wave had once again been flung apart.

Turning almost at once, Sasuke saw the pale form of Mochi-san—or was he actually called Zabuza?—standing in the rippling red's midst. A dead glare was shot Sasuke's way, as Zabuza walked to the edge of the stage before jumping off, landing on both feet without a daze. He proceeded to leaving the building, as Sasuke stared after him, the teen believing that if he didn't watch him, Zabuza would somehow disappear into thin air.

The conversation he had heard, after all, sounded nothing less than fantasy within reality. What kind of dream was this? Sasuke's dark eyes returned to the stage, as he kept one hand on the short stairway's railing.

Haku stood there, in center stage, her eyes staring forward at the double doors that Zabuza had left out of. Instantly, Sasuke was reminded of her pleading, almost apologetic words. Her face mirrored them, anguish dripping out of the corners of her eyes.

"Yukio..." She started at the sound of her name, and relaxed the instant she recognized the voice. Haku instantly turned to him, brushing away the tears with her palm.

"S-Sasuke-kun," Haku addressed him, again unaware that he was calling his roommate this. He attempted a laugh, though it turned out feebler than he'd hoped. "You're... late...."

Sasuke nodded, keeping his eye contact elsewhere. Why did he think Haku's tears were his fault? They were the work of that bloody teacher, Mochi-san or Zabuza or whatever his name was! _Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Act –normal-._ However, this demand was harder than he'd thought. Exactly _what_ was it that connected Haku and that... man?

"When... did you get here?" Haku asked, soon joining Sasuke at the bottom of the steps. In other words, 'Did you hear our conversation?' That close to him, Sasuke suddenly became aware of what looked like the beginnings of a nasty bruise on Haku's arm.

"Just a few... seconds ago..." Sasuke replied, hesitating at the false answer. "Where'd that come from?" He nodded to the mark on Haku's arm.

Haku automatically rubbed against it with a hand. "I fell outside." He pulled that arm's sleeve down to cover the spot, despite knowing that the fabric would just spring back up when he brought his hand away. "So, what _are_ you doing here?"

"I was due to be tortured by audition-watching today, but I decided to be late," Sasuke said, trying to lighten whatever it was that had just gone on between Haku and Zabuza. "What about you? Never exactly struck me as the acting type."

"Weren't you paying attention to what I was asking you yesterday?"

_Unfortunately..._ "Yes. I didn't think you'd get the part, though," Sasuke commented, hastily adding, "No offense meant, I mean..."

"I know." Haku's expression suddenly became more languid. "But, when you've spent most of your life pretending, acting becomes child's play." He didn't include his current time of cross-dressing in this statement.

_Pretending..._ Sasuke could only look at Haku from the corner of his eye. Was he afraid of what he might see? _Are you pretending now, Yukio...?_

-

The threads tore under her fingers, pulled from their places one by one. Sakura grimaced as she ripped her doll of Naruto apart, the thing holding together tighter than she had thought. Ino had been watching moments earlier, finding the show half interesting, before walking out the door to rant to friends about how she should've been chosen for the lead part in the play instead of 'that damned Yukio Haku.'

"Damn you.... Naruto....!!" Sakura swore, with the final tear of the little blond ragdoll's head. She tossed the now miniscule pieces of the mini-Naruto into the air, making it seem like it was raining fluff and orange and yellow cloth. Sakura fell backwards onto her bed, with a sound that resembled a mix between a growl and a yell.

_Who does he think he is, anyway?! Just because he's screwing Sasuke, Naruto thinks he can bloody do what ever the hell he wants! What the heck?!_ She rolled over, soon finding the white ceiling's glare annoying as well. Sakura had walked all that way—_All that bloody way!_—and all Naruto did was walk off in the other direction. And now the pink-haired girl was left with an unappeasable fury that would probably go on for days!

"Damn you, Naruto!!" she cried again, her hands running wildly through her blush-colored locks. Who cared if someone heard her? Sakura knew she would feel a heckuva lot better if someone knew, anyway; even more points if that someone was Sasuke.

All she had wanted to know was if it was true. Had her eyes deceived her, or had the lack of sleep finally gotten to her head when she and Haku were standing out there on the sidewalk Thursday morning? Or had she actually seen Sasuke kiss Naruto? Apparently, all signs pointed to that last one. What in the world had Sakura done to make her deserve this?

She sighed angrily, as if she were a kettle blowing off steam. Which was exactly what she felt like inside. Boiling mad, and ready to sock someone's lights out if they grazed her the wrong way. When Ino was still in the room, Sakura had sorely wished that the girl would make even one snide remark to her. Unfortunately, Ino was also cross, but this time at Haku for winning out over her, and so the light-haired girl barely felt like making a deriding comment to anyone.

Surprisingly enough, Sakura wasn't so peeved about this idea. As long as it wasn't one of her rivals in love (which was pretty much every girl at school, _plus_ Naruto), she could care less. In fact, Haku getting the part over Ino sort of eased her anger for Naruto. Eased, mind you; it was still there, clawing away. Just not quite as rabidly.

Obsessive teenage girls were the worst kinds of lunatics.

-

The weekend was over sooner than it had started. Haku had pretty much stayed in the dorm building the entire time, not wishing to leave his and Sasuke's room for any reasons other than being dragged out by Sakura. She had only done this to have someone to rant to, everyone else either not knowing who she was talking about (Haku still had never met Naruto, either, but she paid no mind to details), or too into their own rantings to listen to hers. After all, most of the girls in the building were loathing Haku at the moment, hating how 'she' had managed to beat them.

In fact... it could've almost been described as scandalous. A set up, in other words. How was it that this one, random girl from nowhere suddenly not only gets to share Sasuke's room, but also sit next to him, _and_ now play opposite of the spiky-haired boy in _Ribbon Heart_, the upcoming school production? Conniving little prat she was, one could say. Or perhaps it was all coincidence? Most of the students thought not. And that was all they could ramble about over the course of Saturday and Sunday.

Haku, of course, acted merely as if nothing had happened at the auditions and went on with his life. No use putting up a fight; women were emotional beasties. Better to let them say what they want, and just ignore it all.

Sunday night, a particularly loud group of rant-happy girls passed by Haku and Sasuke's door, apparently trying to make Haku feel guilty for what he'd done. It didn't work. Their words sounded a little too planned out, and he'd figured it was just a half-elaborate plot schemed up over a slumber party between neighboring roommates.

He arched a brow as they passed, propped against the headboard of his bed. In his lap was a book that he was already more than half done with, and hanging from his mouth was his plastic bookmark. Obviously, it was an old habit of his to chew randomly on the top of his bookmarks while he read.

"Somebody hates you," Sasuke's muffled statement came, in a flat, yet trying, sing-song tone. Haku had previously thought the other boy to be sleeping, but judging from this sudden remark, Sasuke was fully awake, plus most likely bored out of his mind. He'd have to have been, to even have the gall to say what he'd just said.

Letting the placemarker drop from his teeth and fall rather ungracefully down, Haku smirked, looking over. Sasuke was lying facedown on his own bed, looking as though he were trying to strangle himself with the pillow. That certainly explained why his voice was stifled before.

"Well, somebody hates you, too, but you don't see me singing about it," Haku said, his words light in the air, considering what they were implying. He received a glare from Sasuke, as the other male's head turned slowly in its spot just enough to reveal one dark eye.

In just a few short days, Haku had gotten used to Sasuke's way of silently saying things his own way. In this case, the meaning was quite vulgar in its taste, but Haku shrugged it off, returning his attention to the print that was opened before him, as well as the plastic bookmark to his mouth.

Sasuke watched this, his gaze soon turned all the way around. His glare had faded the second Haku had looked back down. What kind of habit was that? Eating your bookmarks while reading... stupid, random idiosyncrasy, that's what it was. Haku was full of it, these quirks. Half of them were probably fake, too.

That was the conclusion Sasuke had come to, after Haku had made her little statement of truth before.

_"When you've spent most of your life pretending, acting becomes child's play."_

Was that was she was doing? Was Yukio Haku really who she had made him believe she was? Perhaps it all was a lie, and she was actually someone else entirely. _Something else..._

But, now Sasuke just sounded paranoid. And that was probably the one thing he wasn't at the moment. He was curious, maybe suspicious and a little annoyed... but not afraid. That would've been ridiculous. Him, Uchiha Sasuke, afraid of a school girl whom he could easily overpower any day of the week? Hah.

It was then that Haku noticed Sasuke looking at him. No, not even looking. Staring. Though, it appeared more like the brooding teen was at it again: brooding. Well, a mix of that and just looking half-dead, seeing as how he wasn't wearing his practically trademarked 'brooding scowl.'

"What? Saddened at the thought?" Sasuke seemed to start at the words, as if blinking himself awake. Haku stared at him curiously. Had he merely been sleeping with his eyes open?

His eyes met with Haku's, nonplussed. "At what thought...?"

"Never mind." And again, Haku returned himself to the confines of his book.

To this, Sasuke scowled. "You've been saying that more and more often since Friday. Would it kill you to end a conversation like a normal person, despite knowing that you are far from that?"

Haku promptly shut the pages of his text, not even bothering to place the bookmark between them. However, he still didn't look over at Sasuke. "Maybe." Instead, he stuck the plastic mark between the front cover and the first page, knowing he could easily find his place later. "What's it to you, anyway? You're not exactly the chatty type, so why the sudden interest?"

Sasuke propped himself up before flipping over and sitting. His eyes never strayed away from Haku's face, which was still fixed on the cover of his book. From what Sasuke could see, however, Haku didn't look very thrilled. "It's not sudden. It's not even an interest," he said, plainly. "More like... a curiosity, of sorts."

"Huh, right..." Haku gave him a deriding look, placing his book aside as he turned to stand from his bed. Sasuke's gaze rose along with Haku, almost questioningly, as he watched. The false-female walked around the corner of his bed, his long, dark hair seeming like curtains as it hung around him. Sasuke was reminded of the theater's stage with this thought.

There was that, and then another memory. Just a few nights ago, Haku's hair had looked like a long, black river running down her back. But then, it was still slightly sopping, and now it was fully brushed and smooth, but without the sheen to it. Completely different from Naruto's hair, which was made better soaked with water, Haku's locks looked best as they were. But now he wondered why he was thinking this in the first place.

Haku stopped just short of the foot of Sasuke's bed, not wavering in his spot. Sasuke, however, suddenly felt the urge to scoot backwards, to possibly avoid whatever attack Haku was planning.

"Don't move," Haku stated, stopping Sasuke before he could even start.

Sasuke looked ready to protest. "I wasn't—" He didn't get to finish, though, because just then Haku leapt onto him, pinning Sasuke down onto his own bed. Haku's hands were pressed forcefully on the other boy's shoulders, his knees on either side of Sasuke. The spiky-haired teen could barely hide his surprise at this action.

Haku's eyes seemed to search Sasuke's own, as if he were hiding something and that was the whole reason why Haku had knocked him down in the first place. Sasuke obviously had much opposition to this, but he couldn't find his voice.

"Little boys would do well to keep their hands away from rattling snakes," Haku warned, his own grip tightening further on Sasuke's arms. "Otherwise, they could get bitten off." With that last word, Haku rolled off his roommate and the bed, landing squarely on his feet, before making his way to the door.

Sasuke sat back up, his stare fixed on Haku's form, as if not watching would earn him another tackle. Haku raised a hand in valediction, stating, "I'll be at Sakura-chan's," before leaving a very riled up Sasuke in the dorm.

Sasuke swore, hitting the mattress. What the hell did she mean by that? Now he wasn't allowed to ask questions? Girls like _her_ were a perfect reason to turn anywhere but straight, he mentally remarked, again finding himself hating the play they would soon have to perform together in front of the school. Two months... the entire time will be a nightmare, won't it?

If she kept pulling weird stunts like this last one, then yes. Did she honestly think she was some sort of sex goddess or something? Who did she think she was, then, if not that?

Sasuke ended up getting off his bed, spurred by the need to move around after being held down in such a degrading matter. Who was he to be routed by a girl? What was stopping him from striking back? Not in literal terms, of course, she still _was_ a girl, but there were other ways to attack. So, what kept him from doing so?

_"Only when I was with you was anything perfect. ...and, it was all so tainted, as well..."_

_"I said can't leave you alone."_

_"Zabuza-san...!"_

Of course. _That_. He grimaced, running a hand through his spiked hair. Now, while he'd been lucky enough to have been spared the clichéd dreams of those words echoing in his bloody head, Sasuke still had the misfortune to recall them every time Haku actually looked at him without a derisive glare in her dark eyes. Which, while not as often as it was before, still gave him plenty of questioning musings.

Looking to release his mind from these things, Sasuke wandered to Haku's side of the room. Glancing down at the bed, still placed like a stage prop in a perfect angle, he noticed the book Haku had been reading. Another one from that dragon series.... Just when he was about to reach down to flip through it, a sudden and unexpected wind swished at him from the wall. Turning, he found that the wind actually came from the open window, a screen currently being the only thing that was between him and the outside.

Shuddering, he brought his hands to the window's top, aiming to shut it. However, the faint sound of Sakura's voice stopped him. _What?_ He leaned in closer to the screen, despite the wind picking up even more then. Her window must also be open, how else could he hear her? Haku's voice was also there, of course.

Why did it seem that all of a sudden he's wanted to listen in on everyone's conversations? Well, to be truthful, they were all mostly Haku's conversations, but that shouldn't have been an excuse. Still... perhaps this was the best version of revenge he could wreck? Pitiful, if that was true. Even sadder, still, if it wasn't. Still, he attempted to listen to their faint words, made only more stifled by the winds blowing past his ear.

Sakura's came in a bit clear. "He's not stupid, you know. We do have more reason to like him than just for his looks; he's also a very intellectual person." Sasuke had the sneaking suspicion she was talking about him....

When Haku spoke, it was a bit harder to hear. She certainly didn't seem that soft when she was in the room with him. But maybe Sakura just naturally spoke louder than Haku, and it only made Haku seem quieter. "Maybe not, but then he's a much better actor than I give him credit for. Either that, or he knows and just thinks that girls look the same as boys."

A disdaining, flat laugh from Sakura. "Ha, ha." Well, at least someone was standing up for him to Haku. "You realize that if he has already found out, which for some reason I doubt as happened, then you're very lucky he hasn't turned you in already. I mean, if what you say is true... about him hating you and all... then, obviously he'd want to get rid of you."

"Right. You know, it's times like these that I wish I had a girl for a roommate. At least she could be sympathetic with me." A pause. Sasuke could feel himself wishing the same thing at that moment, though it went along the lines of him being alone again, and Haku just having a different room entirely. "Men are arrogant gits that need to be tied up with collars, chains and leashes."

This time, Sakura seemed to laugh for real. _So much for standing up for me..._

"You tend to forget, Haku-kun, you are one of those arrogant gits."

_What?_

"I blame my cross-dressing habits. It's not my fault." And then Haku's own laugh, though it was much more poised than Sakura's.

_What...? Cross-dressing...?_

"Shh, shh!" Sakura suddenly claimed. "These cheap walls are going to give you away...!" she said, before snickering at calling the walls cheap.

However, Sasuke was barely paying attention either of their odd jokes anymore. _Cross-dressing? Haku is..._

"Ah, it's getting cold!" Sakura shivered, the sounds of she and Haku suddenly being cut off by the shut of her window. Sasuke's own window soon mirrored hers, though the male was barely conscious of it. Sasuke was standing so close to the glass, his reflection was fogged away by his own breath.

_Haku isn't... a girl.... He's.... a.... boy._

-

After notes: I warned you... too much brooding, eh? Eh.... oh well. Anywho, I won't be able to answer your reviews this chapter like I wanted to ((rushing and all to get this chapter out, you know)), so I'll just answer the questions I remember.

_Q: Are you a boy or girl?_ I am a girl, despite the username I go under. A very open-minded one, but a girl nonetheless. O.o; I've noticed that most female writers are fairly open-minded... huzzahs, then. xD Again, the reason why I go under the name of a male Naruto character is because Gaara is the hotness. (purr) I will steal his virginity one day and— (is cut off by millions of anti-sick-behavior fans who trample over her like stampeding cows) ... cough....

_Q: I thought you said Naruto wouldn't be in it!_ Eh... Well, now he is! XDD Um... (does a dance before slinking away hopefully unnoticed)

Now that that's all settled, **review**! n.n


	7. But Soft!

Info: (dance) I gots a lot of reviews for that last chapter and I ish very berry happy. Sankyu! xDD And a recommendation on a site? Wow... never thought anyone would want to recommend anything I write to others... X3 Anywho, this chapter is very odd. And guess what, for all you out there who like to torture androgynous bishis!! Yep, Haku-kun's first P.E. class. Mwa, Ino and all. XDD Read the warnings for more information on all that.... (cough)

**Warning:** I'm thinking everyone in this bloody story is OOC this chapter.... the entire first thing is mostly in Haku's POV, and then there's a couple of Sasuke points.... and I know I messed up there. -.-0 Jiraiya's probably OOC, for all I know. Sheesh.

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto! Because, if I did, I wouldn't be complaining about how OOC I'm making all the characters! (snicker)

**Chapter 7 —** But Soft!

-

Now Haku figured he knew what Sasuke meant when he'd asked, "Would it kill you to end a conversation like a normal person, despite knowing that you are far from that?" the past Sunday. Of course, the cross-dressing male hadn't exactly been up for normal conversation with anyone (save for the few 'forced' ones with Sakura) since Friday's meeting between him and Zabuza.

It hadn't exactly gone perfect, though Haku had certainly not been supposing it would. Zabuza never was the most predictable person. But wasn't that why Haku found himself so fond of the man in the first place?

He also hadn't _seen_ Zabuza since Friday. It was the mid-morning of Wednesday already, and Haku was currently stuck in Literature with someone who'd probably never even picked up a book before. It was slightly amusing at first, watching the teacher attempt to explain the words the class read, but now it was beginning to be irksome, almost to the point of insulting Haku's intelligence.

Since when had the point of Tom Sawyer been changed to, "Some redneck kid running amuck on the Mississippi River's side?" It was ridiculous to the extent that nearly no one listened, and just passed notes and chatted quietly. Haku found himself merely gazing about the room, suddenly curious as to what everyone else was doing.

Looking to the left, two seats away, was Hyuuga Hinata. This was the class he knew her from. And even _she_, Miss Sasuke-is-to-many-girl's-lust-dreams-as-Hinata-is-to-shyness, was doing something other than listening to the teacher ramble about why Don Quixote could have been a science fiction piece because of the windmills. However, while Haku was staring around the class, Hinata appeared to be writing something.

_Probably some love note to Hot-Pants over here,_ he thought, soon glancing to his right, where Uchiha Sasuke, School Sex Beast Extraordinaire, was seated. This was one of the three classes Haku attended with Sasuke, and (due to the false-female's sheer boldness in his first day) had also kept a seat next to. Haku watched him now, a questioning look on his face. Was Sasuke actually listening to this crackpot sensei of theirs? Well, he _was_ just _sitting_ there, his chin propped up on his interlaced fingers, above where his elbows sat on the desk.

It was that trademark 'brooding' pose of his. Or maybe he knew what Haku was 'inconspicuously' doing, and knew that the boy was staring at him. Haku quickly faced forward again at this thought. But then his attention strayed back to Sasuke, cautiously looking through the corner of his eye in case the spiky-haired male had caught him.

Sasuke hadn't moved. So maybe he _was_ stuck in his own little world.... Since the auditions Friday, it had been a bit unnerving to be in the dorm alone with him. Haku had been sure that Sasuke had heard more of his and Zabuza-san's conversation than he'd wanted. But then for some reason, at the end of the weekend, the room suddenly seemed even more silent than before.

Or maybe it just seemed that way because Sasuke was continuously gone every day since then. _Probably at Uzumaki-kun's house all that time._

Maybe Naruto was sick? Perhaps. Or maybe it was something else. During Saturday and Sunday, it was like Sasuke was unsettled by Haku's unwillingness to do anything other than stare out the window. But now... was it just him, or had Sasuke taken up the silently-staring mode once more, as well? Just thinking about it made Haku wish Sasuke would say _something_, even if it was more of some blunt remark about how idiotic he was or whatever. Just to show that at least someone in the dorm was acting half-normal.

When Sasuke had asked him to end a conversation normally, was this what he was talking about? Though, the subject should have been more along the lines of even starting up a conversation than anything.... Maybe the brooding teen had felt the same, wanting at least an inch of normalcy (though what Haku was could definitely not be the definition of the word), as well.

_Then... was _I_ that out of it?_ Haku began to wonder, again turning his head ever so slightly towards the male next to him. _... but he's like that all the time, so why would he care? Tch, such a hypocritical little boy... I wonder what his parents must be like for him to glower so much._

For one thing, though this was entirely not out of Haku's opinion and merely based on the swoons of masses of girls in the school, Sasuke's parents can't have looked too bad. Sasuke had such a dreamlike air that more than once, Haku had mistaken him for an apparition in the darkness of the room at night. Why, with his darkly narrowed eyes, paled porcelain skin, and spiked up hair, Sasuke definitely wasn't the worst dorm mate one could have. Not to mention the fact that if Haku _had_ been stuck with a female roommate, he'd have to listen to her incessant complaining and ranting about how 'Sasuke can never be mine!' or 'My uniform makes me look horrible!!'. Even with just seeing his dear friend Sakura at short, random points of the day, he had to deal with all sorts of Sasuke-linked tirades, mostly centering on her own dorm mate Ino, or Naruto.

However, in Haku's dormitory, it was fairly quiet. The two still had their momentary, pointless disagreements, most of them related to secrets either one or the other was sharing, but the two stayed silent nonetheless. And while secret-keeping wouldn't normally be much for the rest of us, for two mysterious brooding boys it was (and meant) quite a lot.

For starters, Haku was cross-dressing as a girl at an all-girl's school to try and gain back Zabuza-san, who was posing as a teacher at the school. Then there was Uchiha Sasuke, heart's desire of every girl in school, including a couple boys out of it. Why _he_ was at St. Ruto's was still a mystery for Haku, but the false-female did realize one thing. Sakura seemed to know a bit about the reason as well, which had fairly lowered the options down, despite the fact that she didn't want to share the secret with him.

First, he had figured Sasuke was some sex-crazed pervert who got his kicks out of seeing chicks in skirts all in one setting, and then just happened to be related to someone on the school board and had good connections. But about five minutes after meeting him, Haku nixed the pervert part and just when with sex-crazed, connected kid. Yet, even that whole idea was soon destroyed after Haku and Sakura sneaked out one night after him, only to see the great and beloved Sasuke kissing a boy.

And so, Haku began to believe that maybe under all that bitter, I'm-too-pretty-for-you exterior, there was an insecure little boy who merely went to an all-girl's school so that he wouldn't be verbally attacked for being... well, him. Of course, he also figured that maybe Sasuke didn't really care what others thought of his relationship with Uzumaki, seeing as how he much rather wanted Haku to hide _their_ kiss than his with Naruto. Plus, there must have been more to it than just that, seeing as how even Sakura didn't know about Sasuke's 'homosexual tendencies,' and she was the one who made Haku believe in the first place that there was more of a reason to Sasuke's St. Ruto attendance.

_Maybe he did something horrible..._ Haku began to muse, wondering what that something was if it was true. He couldn't think of anything though. Uchiha Sasuke, irate little punk as he was, certainly couldn't have _killed_ anyone, though he had gotten close to murdering Haku more than once. But why would they send him to a girl's school for that, anyway? Stealing? Again, why send him here? So, maybe it was some weird sort of law that only existed in this particular town. Probably something idiotic like... no boys kissing boys?

He smirked. _If that's the case, is sending him here an attempt to turn him straight? Because it's really only working on the girls._

Then, another thought appeared. Maybe... he _saw_ something happen.... Then perhaps Uchiha Sasuke was under some kind of witness protection program, and his real name was something else entirely. So then how the heck did Sakura know about it?!

"What...?" Haku was snapped out of his thoughts by Sasuke's voice. He breathed in sharply, turning forward yet again, as if he'd never been staring at the male beside him.

"Nothing."

Even out of the corner of his eye, Haku could catch the piercing glare Sasuke was sending him.

"Whatever." Sasuke went back into his brooding pose, looking as bored as ever, as if Haku never had been looking at him in some weird way.

Haku decided to just keep himself frontward facing, though his annoyance slightly showed. While most thought that a conversation made entirely out of one word sentences was impossible, speaking with Sasuke certainly made it doable. Especially if you had just been caught staring at the male.

-

_What kind of damn pervert is he?!_

Sasuke started every morning this week with these words, attempting to never have a look at Yukio Haku again. Of course, this was a tad hard, especially when he shared a bloody room with the guy, and even worse... Haku ran around with a friggin skirt on! Again, he had to mentally state, _What__ the hell kind of freak tortures people like this?!_

It wasn't the fact that Haku certainly didn't seem to mind cross-dressing. Oh no, Uchiha Sasuke could deal with that. After all, Sasuke slept with everything but girls.... And if anything, the boy slightly wished _he_ had thought of that idea first, so that he wouldn't have to deal with mobs of fan girls stalking his every step.

It was just the fact that not only did Haku insult his intelligence with believing he couldn't find out or didn't know, he had _also_ played everything off the week before as if Sasuke was the naughty, stupid, perverted boy of the dorm room and _he_, Yukio Haku, was not!

And he was! Yes, _Haku_ was the horribly, naughty, perverted boy in the room! _He_ was the one having who KNOWS what kind of relationship with a teacher, and _he_ is also the one screwing who _knows_ how many girls!

Is that why Hinata appeared at his door that one day? Because Haku had messed with her the night before or something and had forgotten his books or whatever?! Dammit, why hadn't he checked the pages of those things?! There were probably condoms and all kinds of... of....

_Idiot lech! He thinks he can meander in here and do whatever he wants when I actually have to _work_ to stay here?! Where's the goddamn justice in all that?!_

Of course, while hardly any of the accusations that blazed through Sasuke's mind were true, he still fumed over them. After all, he actually joined that place for a reason. And it was a damn better reason than what he believed Haku to be doing there: sexing all the girls up, including some of the teachers.

If Haku wanted to play his 'Innocent School Girl' game, Sasuke could damn well do it, too! No, better...! Sasuke could play along with this and get all kinds of stupid revenge. Yeah, he was going to show just _who_ the snake amongst the two was.

And now he wouldn't even have to worry whether or not he gets on Haku's _real_ bad side, because _now_ he knew that if Haku ever tried to pull out that, "I'm the victim because Sasuke attempted to RAPE me in the night!" shtick, Sasuke could just come back and say, "Well, Haku is a boy and so that kiss didn't count!"

Huzzah, a perfect plot. After all, what had really been keeping Sasuke on the edge since the night when Haku forced a kiss on him was whether or not the cross-dressing boy would use that information as blackmail. He always could have told someone and have Sasuke kicked out. But, now Sasuke didn't have to worry. Oh no, because now he had his own ammo and it was going to be a lot of fun getting his ultimate revenge.

_Damn liar...._

-

Even as Sasuke seethed over these thoughts, he still kept as stoic a front as ever. He hardly paid any attention to the teacher, despite his staring straight ahead at the man, and simply mused over the falsely identified classmate beside him. The only time Sasuke had looked anywhere else was when he felt like performing a glare at Haku, only to find the girl... er, boy... staring straight at him.

This irked him, wondering if maybe Haku had been mouthing horrible things to him the entire time he had been brooding, but after a few moments of unblinking nothingness, Sasuke realized that Haku was merely staring at him, for presumably no reason at all.

Of course, this thought only annoyed him further, so Sasuke had to ask, "What...?" in order to maybe incite Haku into doing something other than stare blankly at him.

A gasp, then a swift shifting in gears as Haku whirled back to facing forward. "Nothing."

Maybe he _was_ a stalker... Sasuke had been sure he'd never seen Yukio before, but what if he had and didn't remember? But then Haku had and, believing Sasuke to be an adorable ickle boy like most Sasuke fans did, had decided to follow Sasuke here to this school? Shooting a particularly loathing glare, like the kind he had hoped to have done earlier, Sasuke went back to his brooding, looking as though he was nary giving any more thought to the manner when in fact he was wondering if he should transfer to another dorm in fear of a stalker.

While it was partially true that Haku was a 'stalker,' his target was definitely not Uchiha Sasuke, no matter how pretty-boy he was. And while Haku _had_ had an anything-other-than-normal relationship with a 'teacher,' it definitely did not include any kind of perverse thoughts like what Sasuke had presumed. At least not on Haku's half, as far as the cross-dressing male knew. And besides all that, from what Zabuza said, they should have technically been strangers once more.

But how? How could Zabuza expect Haku to just forget everything? While it might've been easy for the man, nearly all of Haku's childhood had surrounded Zabuza-san. While he hadn't been the kindest, the warmest, or even least sadistic, Haku had still believed him to have been the sun and the moon. The one who made the rain fall. The one who kept him from dying in the snow that cold night.

Though all Zabuza had done was provide him with the faint hope of morning that time.

"Yukio-chan, what is the summary for this?"

For the second time that day, Haku was stirred out of his thoughts, though this time it was by the teacher. He stared blankly at the man, then at his desk, unsure of what book he was talking about.

"Uh... what was the—" But before he could ask, Sasuke cut him off, hand raised.

"It was the story of a boy who had to live through the horrors of the holocaust, even when his entire family had been slain, ending with his father. It told what happened in the camps, most of the time in piercing detail." ((**1**))

The teacher nodded. "Hn, thank you Uchiha-kun... that appeared to have made even more sense than what I had thought, but oh well. Now, the next thing to discuss...." As he went back to rambling, Sasuke turned to Haku, a brow raised.

"Weren't you the one who had been looking forward to reading _Night_?"

Haku stared back, awkwardly. "I hadn't been listening."

"Neither had I, but I at least had enough sense to read the bold letters on the board," Sasuke replied, pointing at the words with a glance. Haku narrowed his eyes, exasperated.

"Sure..."

At that moment the bell rang overhead, and the sounds of their classmates slamming textbooks shut echoed in the room with words of, "Finally!" and "Sasuke-kun is _so_ smart!" soon following. Haku filed all his stuff into his bag, getting up to leave when Sasuke stopped him.

"What?" Haku questioned. "You want to mock me more, despite ignoring me, not to mention the dorm entirely, since Sunday?"

Sasuke scowled. "Maybe."

After a moment of waiting, Haku finally said, ".... so? What do you want?"

"I'm not going to Naruto's tonight. We're running lines."

"Where?"

"Stupid, here. As in our room," Sasuke added, when Haku looked at him confusedly. "We have to have these lines down in two months, right?"

"Oh... yeah. Fine." When Sasuke turned away, Haku looked after him incredulously. _So what? Did he just have two days of nearly endless sex with Uzumaki to make up for one night away from him?_ Haku wondered, still confused over why Sasuke had been gone most of that time. _If that's the case, what a darling, love-filled relationship those two have._ He mentally remarked, leaving the classroom with a slight smirk on his face.

He stopped by Sakura's locker, seeing the pink-haired girl rummaging through it hastily. Peering in behind her, without the girl noticing, Haku saw what looked like a landfill in the thing.

"Where'd you get all this stuff, Sakura-chan?" he asked, slight amazement in his tone.

She jumped at the voice, quickly whirling around to face him. "Haku-kun, stop doing that!" Sakura berated him, Haku backing away in return.

"Sorry... I forget," he said.

"How can you forget?" she muttered, angrily. Going back to searching through her stuff, she continued, "You only do this every bloody day...!"

"Yes well..." Haku leaned back in, to see what exactly she was looking for, "no one else really startles as much as you do. And then Uchiha-kun always knows where I am, so....."

"Tch," she scolded, before making a sound of satisfaction. She pulled out a set of clothing, apparently having found what she had been looking for. Sakura then shoved the dark and light blue clothes into Haku's arms, the boy looking down at them nonplussed.

"What are..."

"P.E. clothes," Sakura stated, grinning. "I _was_ supposed to give you these last week, but I totally spaced on it...!" She blushed.

"P... E....?" Haku glanced back up at her suspiciously, as if wondering if this was a joke. "But, last week we had—"

"Art, yeah. Every week, it's a different thing on Wednesday depending on your grade," she said. "Didn't you read that little foldy-booky pamphlet thing they gave you when you signed up...?" He shook his head, causing the girl to mumble incoherently.

"But, I can't do this," he cried. "I thought.... Why didn't you.... Will there be swimming involved?!"

"We don't have a pool here...." _Of course, if you had read the little foldy-booky pamphlet thingy you would've known...._

"Then, where do I—?" He was cut off by Sakura's shoving in a direction.

"Just come on, we'll both be late if you keep complaining..."

-

When Sakura had finally pushed Haku into the right direction, and had finally gotten him through the gym's double doors, the bell rang once more. Cursing, she waved a brief goodbye before sprinting back across the school to her own classroom.

He watched her disappear just before the doors slammed shut once more, leaving him in a gymnasium filled with glaring Sasuke fans. Last week, it hadn't been so bad because they were in a classroom; however, in a gym... who knew what exercise equipment of doom the crazed girls would use. The gym teacher, a man named Jiraiya who certainly didn't seem to be teaching the class for the enjoyment of health, stood before them all with a wide grin on his face.

Haku knew this was not going to be one of his favorite classes... though at least it only came once every other week. That was something to look forward to... slightly. He made his way to the mass of young females, most of which had recognized Haku last week as their 'darling Sasuke's roommate,' and glowered as they had before. He smiled despite them, though it was considerably weaker than he had hoped for. Especially when Yamanaka Ino, the blonde who was Sakura-chan's dorm mate, stepped up next to him.

He glanced over at the girl, who was still a tad intimidating even though he was taller than her, and she stared back with an unrecognizable gleam in her eyes. While the group of Sasuke-fangirls had been considerably jealous last week of Haku's luck to live with Uchiha Sasuke, this time around they were even more envious due to the fact that now he got to share a much wanted smooch with the 'only male in school' for the school play. One could only guess the plots that hid behind Ino's grinning facade.

"Hey, Yukio," she greeted, smiling. He nodded back in reply, rousing an angry stare in her smile's stead. "What? Can only talk to Sasuke-kun?! Well, I'll have you know th—"

"Class!" Jiraiya-sensei began, clapping his hands. "Quick, to the locker room so we can get this class started," He said, ushering the girls, and Haku, to the locker room, which was just at the other side of the gym. "Now, all of you into your short-shorts..."

When Haku stepped in, he did his best to avert his eyes to anywhere but the changing girls around him. He stared at the miniature locker he'd been given the entire time, taking off his shirt first and switching it with the light blue P.E. one Sakura had given him. Even during this class they had to wear a uniform... though if he had it his way, Haku certainly wouldn't be wearing such tiny shorts. Luckily, the shirt he'd been given went on long enough to just about two inches above where the shorts themselves ended.

_Long enough_, he thought, breathing a sigh of relief. It was probably because he didn't exactly have a chest to take up the rest of the shirt. Thanking the fates for that, Haku meandered his way back through the tiled room, keeping his eyes to the floor.

Just when he thought he was home free, however, Ino walked right in front of him. How he knew it was Ino was a surprise to him, even, but the surprise quickly faded when she spoke.

"Just who do you think you are?" she questioned, urging him to answer. When he merely kept watching the floor, as if expecting it to change when he wasn't looking, she glanced down to the tiles then back up at his lowered gaze. "What are you looking at?"

_Not you._ "..... nothing...."

"Then look up, flat-chested weirdo," Ino stated, tilting Haku's head upwards with a hand to his forehead. Instead, he shut his eyes. Ino made a sour look.

"What?! Are you trying to say I'm ugly?!" she cried, rousing the stares of everyone else whose attention she hadn't caught beforehand. Everyone but Haku, who kept his eyes closed. "Hey...!!"

Running out of options, Ino decided to play dirty. A smirk jerking at her lips, she reached for his chest and dug her fingers through the shirt's material, into his sports bra's front and pulled. Upon release, Haku had his eyes wide open and a sharp breath taken in.

He jumped back, his hands over the place where she had probably left a welt. "What was that?!"

Ino folded her arms, almost nonchalantly. "Poor, sheltered girl... never had someone pull your bra straps before?" Several of the girls in the room were now laughing, some turning away to hide their giggling expressions. Haku blushed when he saw that Ino hadn't even put her other shirt on yet, and was only wearing the shorts and a lace-topped bra.

Ino opened her mouth to say more, but the locker room door swinging open (coupled with a couple girls' screams) quickly drew her attention away from Haku. Jiraiya stood there, an odd mix of amusement and curiosity on his face.

"What's going on? And what's taking so long?!" he asked, a couple of girls soon rushing out the door, fully changed. Ino huffed, mumbling something about 'perverted old men,' as Haku flew past her.

When he got out the door, a hand crept around his neck, causing the boy to shudder. Looking up, he saw the face of his teacher staring back.

"Yamanaka-chan teasing you?" Jiraiya questioned, bringing Haku closer. Haku felt his face heating up even more intensely than before, at the feel of this much, much, much older man pulling him closer.

"N-no," Haku stammered, trying to rip away as hard as he could.

"What's she saying? Because if you ask me, you are a very adorable young woman, and you've no need to pay heed to anyone else's wor—"

Haku finally wriggled out of Jiraiya's reach, saying, "Th-thanks...!" before running off to join rest of the classmates who were done.

When he got there, he received a few odd stares from the rest of the girls. Sighing in defeat, Haku realized that this was probably going to be the norm in this class for the rest of the year.

-

"Did she really?!" Sakura couldn't stop herself from shrieking in laughter, her face buried in her hands.

Haku rolled his eyes. "Yes..." he grumbled, annoyed at the fact that his supposed friend was taking amusement from his troubles.

"She... she..." Sakura tried to speak between snickers, before finally bursting into a set of giggles. "She pulled your straps!!"

Haku nodded again, his arms crossed in front of himself on the spot where Ino had blatantly attacked him. "It's not funny."

"Y-yes, it is," Sakura insisted, before going into a mad burst of laughter once more.

The two were headed to the dormitory building, school having ended just moments before. Sakura hadn't had a chance to ask him how his first P.E. class had gone until then, and now Haku wished she hadn't had the opportunity at all.

"It is not," he said again. "How is inflicting random pain in the most ridiculous manner possible so hilarious?"

"Because it is!"

"Hn, really?" Haku raised a brow, looking at Sakura vengefully. Before the giggling girl realized it, she felt a harsh snap at her back, and nearly shot two feet ahead in surprise.

"Haku-kun!!!" she shrieked, grabbing at her back. Haku made a smug look, and she knew he was mentally scolding her for making it so easy by owning a side book bag, the kind you slung over one shoulder ((a.n.- Which, coincidentally, I own)).

"You jerk, how dare you?!"

"You defenseless little girl, how dare _you_?" he returned with, smirking. "But, you were right... it is funny."

"Ugh, I'll get you back for this...!!" Sakura warned, as Haku sped ahead to avoid her impending wrath.

He was still grinning when he reached the room, figuring that the whole day was worth just that one random attack on the girl. Well... save for the harassment of Jiraiya-sensei... but that was besides the point!

Haku flung open the door, only to find Sasuke looming over the entrance.

"Uchiha-kun...?" Haku looked at him oddly, walking around the glaring boy to drop his stuff by his bed. "What were you doing?" he finally asked, a good safe distance away from Sasuke.

"Waiting," Sasuke replied. "What took you so long?"

Haku quirked an eyebrow. "Unlike you, I don't have magical teleportation powers." A moment of silence, then, to Haku's great surprise, a slight smirk appeared on Sasuke's face, though it scared Haku more than relieved him.

"Let's get this over with."

Haku flopped onto his bed, bending in an awkward manner to retrieve the script out of his book bag without having to get up. He somehow managed to, after a good five minutes of rummaging through the thing upside down, and sat back up.

Sasuke had watched, impatiently, having had half a mind to just rip the script out himself. However, when Haku finally achieved his somewhat lethargic goal, the Uchiha muttered a brief word of, "Thank Ra," before flipping to the first page.

The script for _Ribbon Heart_, seeing as how it was a playing for a _girl's_ school, had a light pink front-and-back covering. The title was scrawled over the top with a very ribbon-y font, ending in curls all the rest of that feminine nonsense. After waiting for Haku to say the first line for what seemed like a long while, Sasuke finally had to speak up.

"Don't tell me you've just been looking at the pretty pictures in those dragon books all this time," he sneered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Haku asked, not even looking up from the page. In truth, he hadn't exactly laid eyes on the script's storyline before, and, having found it to be a bit interesting, had forgotten he was supposed to be reading it out loud. He was so engrossed, he didn't even pick up on the subtle remark Sasuke was trying to say.

"Can't you read?" Sasuke edgily questioned.

"Hn? Oh, yes...," Haku finally remembered and his eyes traveled back up to the top. He coughed, trying to figure out the best way to say it. He had just opened his mouth to speak when Sasuke cut him off.

"Didn't you look over the thing beforehand?" he asked, snidely.

"No," the cross-dressing boy plainly replied, slight annoyed that Sasuke had cut him off twice that day (once in the classroom, and again just then), and looked up at his roommate.

"You had two days to figure this out. If you're trying to do something, you think you could at least work a little harder at it," Sasuke said, smirking inwardly. Revenge was sweet.

Haku furrowed his brows. "I _am_ working hard. And besides, I didn't have time to peruse over it since I got it," he explained, giving Sasuke a guarded look. "And I honestly don't see how _you_ could have had all that time... that is, unless you can read while being fu—"

"Shut up and read."

Haku glowered, then returned to the page's confines. That day was definitely not going to be on his top ten list of all-time favorites, that was for sure. As if P.E. wasn't bad enough, having Uchiha Sasuke certainly made it worse. And all over what? Nothing! A stupid play, if that counts as anything...! But other than that, absolutely nothing!

"'I've never seen such a beautiful work of art,'" Haku read flatly, before glaring back up at Sasuke, as if asking, 'Was that good enough, you bastard?'

"Want to have a little more feeling than _that_?" Sasuke deridingly asked, meeting Haku's heated stare with his own.

Haku quirked a brow, showing his indifference. "Not if you're going to keep talking to me like that." He then proceeded to 'mumbling incoherently', "....boys these days.....," conspicuously inconspicuous.

Sasuke heard this as a challenge, and answered to it with a reply of his own. Something he'd been planning on since he read the script two days earlier. "I've got an idea, Yukio-_chan_," he said, keeping a masked expression even as he put emphasis on his words. "Why don't we just skip to page twenty-two, ne?"

Curiously, Haku did as Sasuke suggested, silently reading the lines once he arrived at the page. Before even reaching the end of the page, he promptly glared back up at Sasuke.

"Heck, no."

Sasuke merely acted as if he didn't know what Haku was talking about. "No, what? This is the punishment you get for not acting with feeling, so live with it."

"There's a _reason_ with this is one whatever the heck page it's on, and that reason is because... well... the romance has to be worked out first!"

The spiky-haired male before him stared back, stoically. "It's a freakin' play, Yukio," he stated. "And besides, where else could you find more feeling than in a romance scene?"

"I don't know...," Haku replied, unknowingly backing away on his bed. "A dramatic scene? There, let's find one of those—" He had nearly turned the page when Sasuke grabbed his arm swiftly, halting the progress.

"What the hell are you so afraid of?" Sasuke asked, his hand still clamped around Haku's wrist.

"Nothing," Haku denied, defiantly. "I just don't appreciate pushy men," he added, pulling his arm away from Sasuke's reach. _Damn, two guys today..._ Haku mentally remarked, recalling Jiraiya-sensei's much unwanted contact. _And neither of them are the one I want._

Sasuke took a deep breath, as if trying to figure out how to handle his roommate. "I didn't want us to do the scene itself," he said, trying to get his point across once more. "Just the lines. And this time... try and make it believable."

"Fine," Haku muttered, grudgingly.

"Tch, I swear...," Sasuke suddenly added. "None of my fan girls would complain as much as you do..."

Haku performed a wry smile. "Darling," he stated, on a falsely sweeter note, "that's because I don't dream of becoming your bed slave one day."

He winced at the thought. "Huzzah for me. Now just read."

The so-called girl tried reading her part once more, finding this new line easier to say than the first. "'You jerk, just who do you think you _are_, anyway?! Just because the rest of the world falls at your feet doesn't mean _I_ have to!'"

Sasuke raised both brows to this, though he wasn't too overly surprised at the fact that it sounded suspiciously like Haku _meant_ these words. "'I wasn't expecting you to, Anna. And I meant to tell you, but you never let me close.'"

"'What? And let you trick me like I knew you would end up doing?! All men are the same; lying, cheating animals who care for nothing but themselves,'" Haku read, before glaring up at Sasuke over the top of his script. Sasuke noted this, but pretended to ignore it.

"'If you would have just let me known we had a connection, maybe I wouldn't have done what I did.'" A shifting of mattress springs, as Sasuke leaned further to the edge of his bed, unnoticeable to Haku.

"'Connection? If someone tells you they love you, isn't that what a connection is...?'"

_Connection..._ Isn't that what he and Zabuza-san had? Or had that all been a dream, hidden in the snow? Of course, the word 'love' had never been used but... as far as Haku had seen it, no words were needed for what they had.

The letters on the lines he held before him started mixing in and out as he thought, remembering the numb cold that had surrounded him before. After Zabuza-san had left, Haku would sometimes still sleep out in the snow overnight, leading to worried stares of the others in the apartment housing he used to live in. But all he'd wanted was that nostalgic feeling.... one he could only get lying out in the ice-cold white powder during the night.

"'You never said that.'"

Haku snapped up. "Huh?" Sasuke only needed to give him a burning stare before Haku remembered what they were just doing. "Uh, right.... 'I did... You wouldn't have remembered though, of course.'"

"'Why not?'"

"'I said it....'" Haku paused, whether for dramatic effect or because it struck a mental chord, Sasuke couldn't figure out why, "'but, you were asleep, so....'"

"'Then it didn't count.'"

"'Of course it did! Do you know how hard that was? Just to say it while you were... _unconscious_?!'" Haku then felt the paper slowly being pulled out of his fingers, only to look up and see Sasuke mere inches away from him. He almost protested, but Sasuke beat him to speaking.

"'Then say it again.'"

Haku had seen the line earlier, he knew what it was. He could still hear his mind echoing the words over and over again so then why... why did his throat suddenly get so dry?

Hearing Sasuke read his lines, and then actually watching him was a different thing entirely, as Haku had found. Dark eyes linked, could Haku finally figure out the answer to what he had been wondering earlier, that morning? Though, they seemed to conceal as many secrets as his own eyes did.

".... I...."

"... Haku...?"

"I.... think you are the biggest _moron_ to walk the face of the earth," Haku blandly stated, eyes narrowing.

"What? Stick to your part, stupid!"

"No, why don't _you_ stop trying to get in defenseless girls' pants?!" Haku retorted. "Or, in my case, skirt!"

"Why the hell would I want to get into your damn skirt?!" Sasuke cried, soon standing. Haku followed this motion.

He folded his arms, and in doing so felt the familiar mark of where Ino had snapped his sports bra. "How should I know? Because you seem to get your sadistic kicks out of torturing people you deem fools!"

Sasuke stared at him incredulously. "And who would that be?!"

Haku rolled his eyes, proceeding to walk around the beds, where there was more room to argue pointlessly. "Gee, I dunno... maybe the entirety of your bloody _fanclub_!!"

"I don't even _want_ their attention!" Sasuke replied. "Unless you haven't noticed, girls are not my... my choice of bed partners!"

"Oh, how I would _beg_ to differ," Haku remarked. "Because, unless my source is mistaken, that cultish _ring_ you seem to love wearing so much wasn't even given by Uzumaki-kun...!"

Sasuke flinched at this. "Well, you can tell that source of yours that whoever gave me this ring is none of her business."

"Aha, so it _wasn't_ him!"

"You _just_ said it wasn't...!" Sasuke cried. "Who are you, Captain Redundant?"

A smirk played on Haku's face. "No, but I did just trick you into telling me that that ring wasn't given by Uzumaki Naruto, so HAH!"

"What?!"

"So then who did give it to you?" Haku pried, closing the distance between them again.

Sasuke turned away. "No one of your concern."

"I'll tell you a secret of mine if you tell me this," Haku offered, remembering Sakura having made a deal like this with him once. It was girlish and silly, but maybe Sasuke would fall for it.....?

"No way."

_Damn._ "Oh, come on...!" Haku tried again. "Isn't there anything about me you've ever wondered about?"

_Before, yes. Now, however..._ "No," Sasuke said, coldly. "Besides, your secret will probably be something idiotic, like what your favorite color is or something like that."

Haku shook his head. "Nope, it'll be good."

At this, Sasuke faced his dorm mate once more, slightly curious. Of course, Haku could have just been lying and actually _was_ planning on just telling him his favorite color. But... what if he actually revealed what happened between him and Zabuza-san?

_If it is stupid, I'll be forced to attack viciously and without mercy,_ Sasuke resolved, glaring at the boy opposite of him. "Fine. But you have to tell me your secret first."

"What? No!"

"Why not?"

Haku's arms returned to be crossed. "Because my secret is a heckuva lot better than yours is going to be."

"Well," Sasuke began, his tone edging towards irritation, "if you already know what my secret is, then I don't see why I have to tell you."

Haku and Sasuke glared at one another for a few moments, both becoming more and more impatient with the other.

"You know what?" Sasuke finally said, sitting back onto his bed. "Since it doesn't matter anyway because I doubt you know the person, I'll tell you."

"Yay!"

"His name is—" At that moment the door burst open, Sakura on the other side.

"Sakura-chan?" Haku stated, slightly wishing she hadn't burst in at that moment, right when he was getting somewhere.

"Sasuke-kun!" she cried breathlessly, her face red as if she'd just run a long way in a very short amount of time.

Said boy quickly stood once more, his stoic facade cracking faintly to show a hint of alarm. "What is it?"

"Down... stairs....." she stammered between breaths. "Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei asked for you...."

-

After notes: (**1**) – Never read _Night_ before, though all my friends have had to read it for English. Haven't taken that class yet this year so.... I'll probably end up reading it then, too....

Surprisingly.... this chapter's probably taken me the longest to write. O.o; Weird. It's one of my most enjoyed ones though..... (grins madly) Having people snap other people's bras is probably one of my most guilty pleasures...... Now then! **Review**, and... yeah! Complain about how out-o'-character I made them all! Especially Ino, though for some reason, I think she might just be jealous because Haku is perdier than her. x3 And Sakura and Haku are like, OOC all the time because... for one thing... I doubt they would be friends under any different circumstances. -.-0 Maybe... acquaintances? Certainly not best buddies, like what I seem to be depicting here. (sigh) Oh well....

And in response to perhaps the only question I can really remember (because it made me giggle), I suppose that yes... Naruto and Sasuke can be seen as... as... o.o; For lack of a better term... friends with benefits. :D I plan on showing how their relationship worked in this chapter, but it's got enough information in it already, so you'll all just have to wait until the next one. n.n;;;

Again, **review**, _review_, review....!! ((Or complain. XD))


	8. Rings

Info: Okay... for some reason, this chapter actually took me quite a few days to write. Luckily, I have had a couple snow days this week, thanks to Mother Nature, so you all can thank that for the fact that I'll be able to post a chapter before I go somewhere for Christmas Break. XD This time I'll actually be able to answer your reviews at the end, so yay! Oh, and for those of you who haven't been able to figure out where this fic is going, you might actually have an idea this chapter! All thanks to the wonderful world of Uchiha Sasuke's random flashbacks! That's right, Sasuke will finally have his own memories! x3 n.n Huzzah. Oh, and Naruto comes back. And there are appearances of two new people. Weee! xD Take a look at the warnings before you go on, too.

**Warnings:** Yes... _pluralized_ warning... Anywho, short chunk of shounen-ai action in this chapter! Gack...!! x.x;; It's horribly written, which is why I'm warning you in the first place. Oh, and this time I KNOW Haku is acting OOC. -twitch- Same with Sasuke. In fact, double Haku's OOCness, and you get Sasuke's. -.-0

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, because if I did... I might actually succeed in drawing Haku correctly. -sob-

**Chapter 8** — Rings

-

"Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei asked for you," Sakura stammered, a grim appearance in her green eyes. "They said it's something you might want to see."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Do you know what it is?"

She shook her head, before glancing back at the open door then back to Haku and Sasuke. ".... do either of you ever lock this thing?"

Sasuke pushed past her, however, ignoring the sudden, incredulous question. Haku and Sakura followed soon after him, going down the dormitory building stairs until they all reached the first floor. Upon reaching the bottom step, Haku could see why Sakura had been so breathless. It wasn't because she had gone a long way; they only lived on the second floor, so it was only two rows of stairs.

No, the cause was that it looked as though every member of the student body was standing there, in what Haku could've easily assumed was an angry Sasuke-mob. There were harsh whispers and statements echoing around, and the instant they had appeared down the stairs, every head turned to face the three of them. Suddenly feeling very, very outnumbered, Haku ignored their half-glaring, half-questioning looks and merely turned his own gaze towards the dark red carpeting.

He had assumed that because Sakura probably had to fight street style to get through, they would have to do the same. However, at the very sight of their beloved Uchiha Sasuke, the rowdy student body parted like the Red Sea, Sasuke appearing a little too used to this treatment as he walked calmly through the crowd. Haku and Sakura had to walk closely to him to keep from being cut off by the more jealous members of the mob. However, they were finally separated from him when Sasuke got to his destination.

In the center were the teachers whom had summoned the Uchiha: Iruka and Kakashi. Both looked up from a sheet of paper they had apparently been studying with serious looks on their faces. Its two top corners were rough, as if they had been ripped forcefully from the wall. Sasuke still made no emotion to this, even as faint, anxious flutters began to gather in his center.

Was this what true fear felt like?

He glared up at the two men, Iruka handing him the sheet. Sasuke stared at it for a while, Haku and Sakura watching back from where the crowd of girls had reformed in front of them. The writing was red as the carpeting in the building, and scrawled with an odd accent at the ends. He denied recognizing this accentuation as he read the words in his head.

_"Sasuke-kun, did you forget?"_

Sasuke rumpled the paper in one hand, staring heatedly back up at the two.

"What does this have to do with me?" he asked, angrily. Why he was angry, even Sasuke wasn't fully aware of. Something just didn't feel right, and these two disturbing his thoughts further were probably the cause of his infuriation.

"You saw the signature, right, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi questioned, a silver brow rising. Silently, the boy unfurled the crinkled note once more, his eyes instantly shooting down to where the signature was supposed to be.

No name, just a symbol. His eyes widened, recognizing what it said. Kanji.

_Love._

-

"Are you agonizing silently, or just praying to your Uchiha gods?" Haku asked, flatly.

It was already nine o' clock, and he had watched his roommate sit undisturbed on his bed. Sasuke's head was bowed low as his hands wrung into one another in front of him. It did look like some odd, ritualistic dance. Of course it also looked like the spiky-haired male was trying to figure out a very painful decision. Just watching was starting to make Haku's skin tingle.

"Uchiha-kun..." This time, his voice was devoid of disdain. Instead, it sounded rather... concerned? That was probably a first, seeing as how there was nary any need to feel concerned about his dorm mate before. But now...

Sasuke stared at him out of the corner of his eye. An eerie darkness was hidden in his gaze. The kind you were only supposed to see in horror movies, where the light was off and the monster was hiding in the next room over and the only thing that can keep you alive is if you stopped breathing.

Haku did just that for a few moments, his breath lingering in his chest from the sight of Sasuke's glare. A slow ache formed, until he slowly began breathing once more, unconsciously making it as silent as he could.

"You both looked the same," Sasuke finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

Haku stared skeptically at him. "...what?"

Sasuke sat up from his slouch, his stare pooling onto the floor before him. His ebony bangs veiled any more emotion from reaching Haku.

"Your faces are different, of course, but... your hair is the exact same as hers was."

Slightly confused, Haku joined his roommate in sitting on Sasuke's bed, sliding right beside him in one move. "... who are you talking about?" Haku carefully asked.

"My mother."

--

_"Aniki...?"_

_No emotion. What had he just done? Where were the tears that were supposed to follow such an act? There were streams of blood everywhere, but nothing else. Where was his brother's remorse?!_

_"Aniki?!"_

_Not even a smile. Wasn't this the part where he smiled and said, "Just kidding!" and everyone woke up? He finally did speak but... none of it was out of a joke._

_"Hate me." A sickening sound as he pulled the weapon out of their mother's chest. Wasn't this just a horrible dream? Open your eyes, Sasuke. Wake up...!_

_"Little brother..." His steps tread softly, over the woman's body. She wasn't the one who once held both boys in her arms, was she? No, this must've been someone else. Someone else's mother, with those dead, blank eyes. The fear was swept out of them as soon as it had appeared, rushed out along with their blood. How could his brother do this? Their own family...?_

_A hand ruffled through his hair. The fingers were cold, and his brother's thumb cleared away the tears that were forming in Sasuke's eyes. The child backed away from the contact, but the wall behind him forced him to cease his retreat. _

_Now he felt faint. ".... An... iki...."_

_"You're not worth my time...."_

--

Haku watched Sasuke curiously. "Your mother?" he repeated. Sasuke had been silent for a few minutes. What the boy was thinking of, Haku had no clue, except for maybe his parents. His family? Perhaps they weren't as well off as Haku had presumed.

A slow nod was the reply.

"... what happened to her?"

Looking up, Sasuke looked ready to answer. However, he quickly turned on Haku and glared. "None of your business, dork."

"What?!" Haku stood, his hands clenched at either side. And here he had thought that they were finally getting somewhere. "You were the one opening up to me!"

Sasuke stood as well, his trademark glare only narrowing. "I wasn't opening up to anyone."

"Then what was that sorrowful display? Brooding Loser's Theater?!"

"You shut up!"

"Then stop going from hot to cold!"

Sasuke looked ready to strike the cross-dressing male before him. "You don't know anything," he stated, furiously. "You're just some androgynous fool who doesn't even know his own gender...!"

Haku's eyes widened. He stepped back, slowly. "What...?"

However, Sasuke looked away, pretending he'd never said anything. "I'm going to sleep."

He turned off the light beside his bed, leaving Haku standing in the dark. Haku could hear the rustling of Sasuke's bed sheets, flashes of white made apparent by the moonlight streaming in from the window. He felt his way to his own bed, before slipping under its covers.

A great fear had struck him when Sasuke had spoken those words, and all he could think about until he finally fell asleep was, _Does__ he know...?_

-

"Sasuke.... you're being boring again," whined Naruto, before prodding Sasuke's forehead with a finger.

The two were lying up on Naruto's roof, supposedly staring up at the passing clouds. However, Naruto was currently staring at Sasuke expectantly, whilst the brooding boy ignored his pleas for something other than quiet.

However, Sasuke was busy musing over the day before. The letter he'd gotten... apparently the one who was aiming to give it to him had taken down one of the posts on the bulletin board outside the Dorm Manager's office, and had written the note before sticking it back up.

No one had truly seen who it was, though there had been a couple girls searching for attention who claimed to know. However, all their wild descriptions proved false. Sasuke knew who'd done it; he knew the person all too well.

"Sasuke?" Naruto furrowed his brows. "Stop. Ignoring. Me," he said, poking Sasuke's face with each word. Slowly, the spiky-haired boy turned his head slowly to face Naruto. The blonde grinned in reply to Sasuke's glare.

"Would you stop that?" he stated, resulting in a pout from the blue-eyed male beside him.

"But, Sasukeee....," Naruto whined again. "You didn't come over yesterday, and I was uber-bored, and—" He was cut off by Sasuke's hand being thrust over his mouth.

"I was busy," Sasuke replied. "I already told you that."

"Pshh, yeah right!" Knocking Sasuke's silencing hand away, Naruto sat back and folded his arms. "With some cross-dressing floozy."

Sasuke immediately sat up. "Not like that, dobe," he murmured, grabbing Naruto by the collar and pulling him back over. Naruto obeyed obediently, all too familiar with Sasuke's superiority complex. Sasuke pinned the blonde beneath him, soon straddled over his waist. "I did tell you I have a play at school right?"

Naruto nodded, paying more attention to their positions than Sasuke's words.

"Well... Yukio plays the opposite."

"Uh huh..."

Sasuke quirked a brow at the male beneath him. "Are you even listening?"

"Uh huh...."

"Keep _some_ restraint on yourself then, will you?"

"Yeah...."

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh.

--

_"What is this?" He stared down at the silver band in his fingers, the metal cool to the touch from the cold, wintry air. Blue and white crystals alternated with one another, weaving through the center of the ring._

_"A gift, I guess," was the reply. He stared back up at the one who'd given the ring to him. Those piercing eyes... How could such a gift come from such a cold person?_

_"... um, thanks, then."__ He was about to slip the ring on, when the male in front of him did it for him. The left ring finger... was this supposed to be an engagement? But they were both boys; it could never happen. At least not here. And not right now; they were too young._

_"Wear it like this." He stared back up at those aquamarine eyes, all too aware of their gaze upon him. "So you don't forget."_

_"Forget what?"_

_"That you're mine."_

--

"Sasuke...?" Naruto stared up at his lover with an odd expression. Sasuke had just stopped moving for a long while, and was just staring at the blonde's exposed chest. "Hey, you can stop undressing me with your eyes and do it for real...."

"Huh?" He snapped out of his daze, rolled off of Naruto. The afternoon sun was slowly moving away, leaving the roof colder than it had been hours before. "Er... sorry."

Naruto sat up, disappointed at the sudden lack of contact. "For what? Just start over again."

"No... I have to go now," Sasuke replied, standing to climb back into the house through Naruto's window.

"But, Sasukeee...!"

"Tomorrow, dobe," he called back, before disappearing off the edge of the flat rooftop.

-

"He knows."

"Oh, he was probably just trying to make you mad," Sakura attempted to reassure Haku, waving her hand like it was a petty idea. "You know, he once told me he hated me, but that doesn't mean it's true... I think."

Sakura was in his and Sasuke's dorm, seeing as how Ino was in hers and Sasuke was currently away. The two were sitting across from each other in the chairs that inhabited the room. It was late afternoon, and Haku was hoping that Sasuke didn't come back until midnight. Or at all. He didn't want to see the obsidian-eyed male again for a long while.

"No, I'm sure he knows," protested Haku. "You can't possibly choose that particular set of words unless you know."

Sakura frowned. "What exactly did he say?"

"That I'm some androgynous fool who doesn't know my own gender," he replied, sounding slightly cross from having to recall the sentence.

"Harsh," she muttered, feeling slightly sympathetic with her friend. "Maybe... um, maybe it's a bra size joke?" she suddenly said, laughing nervously.

Haku stared at her, before standing out of his chair.

"W-what...?" Sakura suddenly felt nervous.

He closed the distance between them, causing Sakura to stand as well out of unease. She began backing away when she saw the smirk cross his lips, but it was too late. Just as she turned, a pair of hands grabbed her by the shirt, pulling her back.

"H-Haku, what are you—Yeek!!" She shrieked as she felt a sharp snap at her back. Sakura tried to turn around to berate him, but he kept a hold on her. "Agh, you pervert, I didn't mean it!" she cried, squirming to try and get away.

"Well, this is what you get," he replied, grinning.

Just then, the door clicked open. The two froze, looking up to see Sasuke standing on the other side of the doorway.

He stared at the two, questioningly. "What are you doing...?"

Haku immediately let go of Sakura, as she readjusted her shirt and everything else that had gotten disheveled in the sudden attack. Sasuke watched them both with an incredulous glare. Finally, Sakura beamed up at Sasuke then Haku, before meandering out the door.

"Uh, um... if you need any more help with your erm, welts, uh... just call me again, Haku-kun!" she cried, before slamming the door quite loudly out of tension.

Sasuke turned back to Haku. "... welts, Yukio?"

Haku's face colored at the word. "Y-yeah..."

"Welts... from what?"

"You know..." Haku began inching backwards towards his chair once more, "bra snapping, and whatnot..."

Sasuke raised a slender brow in question, looking at Haku in even more disbelief, as he advanced on him. "And who did _that_ to you?"

"Er... Yamanaka-san. And I think Sakura-chan did it to me once, too...." he paused to remember.

"Right. Whatever." Sasuke turned away, retreating to the desk in the corner to do his homework.

Haku sighed, leaning back in his seat. The ceiling stared back at him with a blank, white gaze. Why did living with Uchiha Sasuke seem to get tenser with each passing day?

"You know..." Haku suddenly said aloud, only paying half attention to what he was doing, "you never told me who gave you that ring."

Silence followed his words. When he looked over at Sasuke, he could see that the male had stopped writing and seemed to be thinking.

"Uchiha-kun?"

"I heard what you said," Sasuke stated. "And all you need to know is that... he was the first."

_First what?_ Haku wondered, watching Sasuke return to his paper. _First kiss?__ First love? First... time?_ Shuddering at the thought of anyone getting it on with Sasuke then giving him a _ring_ for it, Haku got up and went over to his bed, before flopping onto it.

"What about you?" came Sasuke's voice, suddenly.

"Hm? What _about_ me?" Haku questioned, his face buried in his mattress. Then he felt a tug at his hair, and looked up. Sasuke had walked over to him without his notice, and was now standing over his lain form. Haku rolled over, meeting his space-invading roommate with a heated stare. "And do you have to be so close?"

"Your first love, and yes," the brooding male replied, before sitting himself by Haku. "Now answer," he added, pulling strands of Haku's hair again.

"Ow, fine," Haku said, pulling his hair away from Sasuke's reach. "Sadist...," he murmured. "My first love was.... _is_.... a secret."

Sasuke didn't look amused. "Then is it safe to assume that it is who I think it is?"

"Depends on who you think it is."

The spiky-haired teen smirked. "Yours truly."

"Ugh, no. Guess again," Haku remarked, making a face. "Why would you think it was you, anyway?"

"You say that as if I'm atrocious," Sasuke said, glowering. "... And besides, why not? Every _girl_ in school adores me." He had put emphasis on particular words for certain reasons.

"Not me," Haku replied, simply, turning his head away. He hadn't noticed Sasuke's use of words. "I only like men with depth."

"I have depth," Sasuke protested. "And personality. Much unlike the guy you actually like."

Haku looked back up at him. "You don't even know who he is."

"Wanna bet?" Sasuke tested him, quirking a brow.

Haku folded his arms in front of him, tilting his head. "Well, unfortunately for your gambling spirit, I don't bet."

"It's a figure of speech, and you're probably just afraid."

Haku's expression suddenly turned serious. "I fear nothing, save for the man we are speaking of."

Sasuke gave him a wondering look. "Hn... then why does it seem like you've been fearful of me ever since you came here?"

"I'm not afraid of you," the cross-dresser quickly answered. "You're just some pompous, anguished kid who gets his kicks frolicking with blond boys."

".....!!" Sasuke flung himself off the bed, his pale cheeks colored an unusual light pink. "I know what you are, Yukio. And it's everything _but_ a girl...!!"

Haku sat straight up, alarm beset in his dark eyes. "No you don't...!"

"I know it, that Zabuza guy knows it, and Sakura knows, too, doesn't she?"

He denied it. "You're crazy.... shut up...!"

"No," Sasuke stated. "Not until you leave me the hell alone!"

"You were the one who came over here...!"

"You know that's not what I meant!" Sasuke grabbed Haku by the sleeve, pulling him off the bed. Haku nearly fell off, but his legs caught him before he could. "You stop digging into my life, and maybe you'll stay here long enough to get raped by that man like you want."

Haku scowled, his own hand having found itself latched onto Sasuke's shirt collar. "Why do you keep trying to pick a fight with me?"

"Because ever since day one, you've been annoying," he replied, pulling Haku closer than the cross-dressing boy wanted. "First off, you invade my space. Then you invade my private life. Then you _kiss_ me! What the hell spurred you to do that?!"

"Well, if I knew it was going to bite me again like this, I wouldn't have done it in the first place!" Haku cried. "One, you looked pathetic sitting all by your lonesome in each class of yours. Two, following you was Sakura-chan's idea. Three, I honestly don't know!"

"Well, how do you like it?!" Then, Sasuke crushed his lips onto Haku's, giving the doe-eyed male half a heart attack in doing so. His arms were both being gripped harshly by Sasuke, and the shock had made Haku immobile.

Upon release, both were breathing harshly out of anger for one another and exasperation. Both seemed to be blushing furiously, but they never broke eye contact.

"That... was stupid," Haku muttered, heatedly. His heart was still skipping every other beat from Sasuke's brief stunt.

Sasuke took a breath. "Not as stupid as this." Grabbing Haku's shoulders, he latched onto the other male once more, causing both to fall backwards onto Haku's bed. His lips were still warm from the earlier contact, and Haku had been caught mid-breath, leaving him open to attack.

Haku attempted to protest, struggling to push Sasuke off of him, but something was making his strength falter. Was it the same thing that was making him shake? Did he really fear Uchiha Sasuke, or was it another thing entirely?

Sasuke had no idea what he was doing. Well, he knew what he was _doing_-doing, but why Haku? And why all of a sudden, like this? He smirked, only half-aware of himself attempting to part his roommate's lips. Maybe this was a dream...

When Haku finally managed to get Sasuke a few inches away from his face, he tried to speak. "Sasuke! What are you doi—?!" Soon cut off by the Uchiha's tongue in his mouth, Haku did everything but give up. That was... until he tried to gain the upper hand by deepening the kiss further. This sudden acceptance allowed Sasuke to fully delve into Haku's mouth, liking the untouched taste of him. With the intense feeling that came with this, Haku ended up forgetting all about fighting back and instead pulled his dorm mate closer to him.

Sasuke's hands ran up and down the length of the other boy's back, making him arch at the touch. The skin was soft, like a woman's; this only enticed him further. Haku gripped at the Uchiha's shoulders, the hold becoming tighter as Sasuke began trailing kisses down his neck. He moaned at the feel of Sasuke's bangs brushing against his skin. Sasuke took this as his cue to begin pulling off Haku's shirt, and struggled with it for a while before finally taking it off him. He then arched a brow at the sight of the bra.

"So detailed..." he breathed, rousing a silent glare from Haku, before slipping the thing off him, as well. He had half expected there to actually be breasts behind it, but no; Haku truly was one hundred percent male, despite having smooth as silk skin. He continued his sensual endeavor onto Haku's collarbone, keen on leaving some kind of mark.

Haku, meanwhile, was intent just running his fingers through Sasuke's spiked hair. He breathed in sharply when Sasuke suddenly bit the corner of his neck. There was a sudden and new warmth which Haku recognized as the feeling of his own blood on his skin. He winced at the feel, but soon became preoccupied with another sensation that was happening elsewhere for both of them....

Sasuke licked at the wound, reveling in the taste of his roommate's flesh. It was different from Naruto's, in a way. Haku was like snow; your mother always told you to never eat it, but you did anyway. And Naruto was more of something he liked to have daily, but it wasn't quite as forbidden. Why was this...?

The cut was beginning to throb for Haku now, so he directed Sasuke away from the site. The male obeyed, but not before stealing another kiss from Haku's lips. He hovered over the cross-dressing male's lips, just looking into the dark eyes that were his roommate's own.

"You're mine, Yukio."

A smirk. "Gladly..."

No one was here to tell him no, so Sasuke continued playing in the snow that was Haku. Not even what was supposed to be their abiding hatred for one another stopped either of them. It wasn't until their exhaustion finally caught up during the night did they let go.

Giving up in each other's arms, under the warmth of Haku's bed sheets. The closest they'd ever been, yet the furthest from reality either had ever ventured.

-

Yukio Haku finally awoke to the bright morning light, streaming in through the window beside his bed. He groaned, glancing over at the clock.

_6:23_ It was still early; he could easily fall back asleep. Rolling over, he tried to get back to dreaming. However, his dark eyes shot straight open again.

Why was Uchiha Sasuke's sleeping face so close to his? He sat up swiftly, pulling the covers up with him to cover himself. Then another though occurred to Haku. He peered down beneath the sheets, then quickly recovered himself, regretting doing so.

Why was he only in his boxers? Why were _both_ of them lying in _his_ bed, wearing only their underwear?!

_What the hell happened...?!_ Needing answers, Haku cautiously poked Sasuke's forehead, sharply. The Uchiha woke with a start.

"...uh... what?" He slowly got up, looking around groggily. Haku watched with his heart beating furiously.

"Uchiha... what did we do?" he gradually asked, hoping the reply would be "nothing."

Sasuke turned to him, an incredulous look on his face, before glaring. "What are you doing in my bed?"

"You're in _my_ bed," Haku informed the sleepy Sasuke. Sasuke slowly nodded, before laying back down, intent on falling back asleep. "Hey! Don't go back to sleep...!"

Sasuke didn't move, and merely turned away. "Why not? It's too early, anyway. School doesn't start until eight..."

"Sasuke! What did we do?!" Haku was beginning to get frantic. He made a move to shove Sasuke out of his bed, but a sting where his shoulder connected to his neck stopped him. He hissed. "Huh...?" Haku felt at the bite mark that was made the night before, before a sudden hit of nostalgia swept over him.

_That's right... _But then a new round of questions came up. He proceeded to shaking Sasuke, rapidly. "Uchiha-kun...?! Did we finish?!"

The reply was muffled and weary, only worsening Haku's anxiety. It couldn't technically be called rape... he had stopped fighting it, after all. _Dammit__, dammit... dammit....!_ he mentally cursed, glaring at Sasuke's back.

Suddenly, Sasuke sat up as well. His eyes were wide, as if he'd just realized what they'd done.

"Uchi—"

"Last night...," Sasuke began, his words barely above a whisper. "I didn't finish my homework." Haku scowled, as Sasuke immediately stood and made his way back over to the desk, aiming to just write whatever answers he could down before he had to change.

"I'm worrying over my virginity, and all you care about is your homework?!" Haku cried.

This comment finally caught Sasuke's attention, as the boy slowly turned his head to where Haku was still sitting on the bed.

"You're a virgin...?" he questioned, suspiciously. "I could have never guessed from last night...."

Haku crossed his arms. "Unlike some people here, I'm not a man-whore."

Rolling his eyes in disbelief, Sasuke returned to his work, obviously not caring that all he was currently wearing were a pair of boxers.

Haku noticed this, and another streak of fear crossed his expression. Ripping the covers off himself, he realized something else.

"These... aren't mine...."

"We probably got ours mixed up in the dark," came Sasuke's voice. He received another fiery stare from Haku for it.

Having enough of this, Haku sprinted out of bed and into the washroom, but not before grabbing the folded uniform he would wear off his dresser. In the confines of the secluded room, Haku banged his head against the door.

"Zabuza-san...." he sighed, feeling utterly defeated. This was a nightmare. A nightmare that felt really good at first, but has come back to bite him in the ass.

Slowly, the male changed, ripping the boxers off with a hint of disgust. He replaced them with his own, before putting on his plaid skirt and white shirt. He walked out of the room again, holding Sasuke's boxers in front of him like they were diseased, before tossing them onto Sasuke's head.

"...thanks..." the Uchiha replied, pulling them off before continuing his writing.

Haku glowered at the other boy's actions. How could he be so calm? Him?! Mr. I-Hate-Everything-So-Don't-Bother-Me...! This only worried him further.

_Gah__, if I think about this too much, I'll be as old as my PE teacher before long...!!_

"I'm... going now," Haku finally said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. It hit the mark Sasuke left, but Haku ignored the twinge.

"It's still early," Sasuke commented, causing Haku to look back at the clock. It was nearly 7:15, so if Haku left now he would be stuck waiting for the school to open until 7:55. However, he currently wanted to be anywhere but with Uchiha Sasuke, so Haku shrugged.

"So? I'll be in the hall," he replied, referring to the hallway outside the door. He made his way to the exit, but Sasuke stopped him with a grab at his bag. Haku refused to look back at him. "What?"

"Wait a second, Haku." He pulled Haku back to him.

The cross-dressing boy's heart began thumping wildly again. Was this going to be the response every time Sasuke came in contact with him?

"What now?!" Haku was answered when Sasuke planted a kiss on his lips. Haku jumped back before any more harm could be done.

"U-Uchiha....! Stop doing that," he demanded, rubbing the feeling away with his sleeve. "What about Uzumaki-san?!"

"He doesn't care," Sasuke replied, shrugging. "Not that much, anyway. I let him do whatever he wants with other people."

Haku grimaced. "Wow, sounds like a _healthy_ relationship," he muttered, sarcastically.

"I didn't touch you last night, if that's what you've been worrying about," Sasuke stated, closing back in on him.

"Oh, you only thought of that now?" Haku inched backwards towards the door. "A little disbelieving, if you consider the fact we woke up in each other's boxers...!"

Sasuke reached a hand to the lower part of Haku's chest. "This was as far as we got."

Haku flinched at the contact. "Well... we're not going any closer than a few feet from now on, Uchiha-kun," he stated heatedly, knocking away Sasuke's hand. "Bye."

He turned and left the dorm, leaving Sasuke to himself. Sasuke stared after the shut door, his hand frozen where Haku had hit it aside.

"......."

-

Outside the room, Haku let out a sigh of relief. Now that he had their boundaries established, maybe everything would go back to... normal.... What was normal, though? If anything, weird stuff like what had happened the night before _was_ their definition of normality.

Had he actually enjoyed it, though? It sure seemed like Sasuke had, from the odd way he was acting this morning. Haku couldn't help wondering about this. Why had he stopped fighting back? Since when had all his defenses lowered in front of Uchiha Sasuke?

He had let his roommate nearly take full advantage of him. And what if they'd gone all the way? What would Zabuza-san have to deridingly say about that? Haku let his backpack fall to the ground, and leaned against the door, wearily.

He was glad that they only got as far as they did. No one needed to know, then, right? Either _way_, no one had to know! All the way or not, this was going to be a secret. Even Sakura-chan would be kept in the dark. And he would find a way to stop Sasuke from telling Naruto.

He looked over at his friend's dorm door, angry at the fact that she most likely didn't wake up in the confines of her roommate's bed. Or, maybe she did...? No, no. Both girls were avid Sasuke-fans.

Though, now that Haku thought about it, maybe they did have good reason to be... It wasn't like he _didn't_ enjoy Sasuke's fondling. He just didn't love it wholeheartedly. Now, if he had been a Sasuke fangirl, the morning would have probably turned out a lot differently....

He was thrust out of his thoughts when a sudden movement caught his attention. Someone coming up the stairway? Haku's eyes narrowed, as he watched the stranger.

An eccentric looking male, so he was definitely not a student. Ruffled, short red hair, and sharp, green eyes that Haku could see all the way from where he was standing.

_Who is he...?_ Haku watched curiously as the teen approached. _Is he coming over here?_ he wondered, standing up straight now. A nervous feeling was beginning to etch its way into him, and he had no idea why. The stranger stopped before him, a piercing glare in his circled eyes. It looked as though he hadn't slept in ages, though his eyes were still as clear as day.

"H-Hello....?" Haku tried to greet him, though for some reason his voice wavered. He wasn't typically the shy type; what was going on now?

"Out of my way," was the only reply, as the male shoved Haku away from the door. The cross-dresser was barely able to keep himself from falling over. His eyes widened when he noticed the silver band around the other's finger. It matched Sasuke's perfectly.

"Who are you?" he asked, until the insomniac red-head flung opened the door, stepping inside, before shutting it closed again. "Hey!" Haku tried to reopen it, but it was already locked. He banged on it, the nervousness now spreading throughout his body. "Uchiha-kun! Sasuke!!"

-

After notes: I don't know why I don't just call these "Author notes" like everyone else... Anyways, how did you like that chunk of lovin', eh? xD That scene, and Sasuke and Naruto's scene took the longest to write. I actually had to reread a bunch of yaoi fics just to get a couple sentences right! -.-0 How bleh. Anyways, here are your reviews, in the order they were given from first to last:

Yaoilover S: Now do you know who gave Sasuke-kun that ring? XD Bra snapping is something I've somehow learned to avoid, using meh ninja skills and whatnot. –has actually had it happen many, many times and is just trying to save what little face she has- n.n; I'm glad you liked that last chapter. I hope this one is just as good ((if not better. XP)). Thanks for the review! n.n

Tufyll: Well, cliffhangers are what keep people coming back, ne? XD And here was another cliffhanger ((I'm sorry. n.n;;; )). I try to make it unpredictable, so if you don't know what's going to happen, I suppose I've done my job! Yay. Sankyu for saying that it is interesting... heehee.

KawaiiKana: Thanky swanky, dear! I've updated now, so are you happy? :D

Mappel: I'm glad I was able to think up something you haven't seen much before, then. Heh! And no worries about an OC, here, dearie. :P No need for random unknown people giving main characters rings, after all...! But do you know who's given it to him, now? Yep, I'm not quite as original as I'd like to be. xD And you were right; it did have something to do with the one who gave him the ring. Was Ribbon Heart _really_ clever, or are you just saying that? n.n;;;; Romeo and Juliet is hard to understand for a simpleton like moi, so I had to use something else...! So here's the next chapter! Was it up to par? X3 Thank you for commenting!!

Kayoko-chan: It was eighteen pages long! How could it be over "already?!" XDDD Well, at least you like it so much to say that. -laugh- I'm glad it's different, then, if people like it. n.n Here's Naruto again, for your SasuNaru enjoyment...! He'll end up in the next chapter, too, I believe... And I'm very happy you like their interaction. X3 I keep thinking it's too out of whack or something.... Thanks for reviewing!!!

Monkey Shoes: XD Someone who likes the cliffhanger! –gigglesnorts- Next chapter is here, now, so was that soon enough? –grin-

Darkangel: Aw. –patpat- Well, here's the newest chapter, if that makes it better...? xD Though now there's another cliffhanger. Oh well.... Thank you for reviewing, lurve.

Now that that's done, thank you all who have read and reviewed! And for those of you who haven't yet... –suspicious stare- ..... –shakes fist- Review now! xDD Before I make Gaara rape Sasuke! –realizes that might actually stop some people from reviewing and takes the 'threat' back- o.o;; **Review** for me, anyway...!


	9. First Love

Info: I started writing this chapter just this past weekend, because I was off on vacation in wherever. XD Ah, it seems I've either gained a few new reviewers, or some of you people who read and just don't review have finally done so. I'll be answering you reviews at the end again, of course. Um, some weird things will happen in this chapter, besides the appearance of Gaara. There will most likely be more questions in your head than before when you're done reading, just to tell you.... o.o; Not to worry, though, because they will all be answered soon enough! Now, onto the warnings!!

**Warning:** Righto, only one warning this time, and it's the fact that I believe Haku finally gets a little back into character! Wee! Wait no, that isn't a warning... okay, so Sasuke gets about as OOC as he can get, that's the warning. xDD;; I'm sorry.

Disclaimer- Ever wonder why I don't bold the heading of this? Meh, oh VELL. –laugh- Anywho, I do not own any type of anime whatsoever!! Though, I do own the story _May I...?_ which will be mentioned by Sasuke in this chapter. W00t. And my friend owns her character of Meena, who will also be mentioned but only with one word. Hahaha...hah... why am I laughing?

**Chapter 9** – First Love

-

Haku stared nervously at the closed door, only stopping his attack upon it when Haruno Sakura clicked open her own dorm entrance, looking at her neighbor questioningly.

"Haku-kun..." she began, her tone slightly irate from the uproar Haku was causing so early in the Friday morning. "What are you doing?"

"There's someone in the room!" he cried, a hand still on the doorknob.

Sakura still continued looking thoroughly confused. "Yeah... his name is Sasuke. And I bet he doesn't appreciate you banging on the door, either," she replied, sourly.

"No, you don't understand," Haku protested. A few more girls had appeared out of their rooms, similar annoyed looks to Sakura's on their faces. "Some red-haired guy just went in there!"

At the description, Sakura's eyes went wide. "R-red....?" she repeated. He nodded. Sakura swiftly turned around and began running out of the hall.

"Sakura-chan!!" he called after her, confused as to where she was going. However, the pink-haired girl had already disappeared around the corner where the stairs met the floor. He turned back to the shut door, a swarm of girls soon forming around him.

"Someone's in there?" one asked, her voice almost as nervous as Hinata's.

"With Sasuke-kun?!" another cried, and before long, the whole lot was bustling noisily around Haku. They were all interrogating him, a couple angry while others were more disheartened and confused than anything.

Haku proceeded to ignoring them, and returned to calling for Sasuke through the tightly locked door.

-

"Kakashi-sensei!!" her voice echoed throughout the school's empty hallways. Sakura ran through the school, the environment seeming foreign without her classmates filling the halls. "Kakashi-sensei...!!" she called again.

The silver-haired teacher was always the first one in the building, after all, despite being the last one to his classroom. And besides that, he and Gai-sensei were the two designated to help the students before and after school. Gai was definitely not going to be much help here, judging from the fact that he knew nothing of the situation, so Sakura was forced to search out her math teacher.

She turned abruptly, coming to the door of the teacher's lounge. He _must_ be in there, Sakura figured, flinging open the door. Where else would he be reading that perverted _Come Come Paradise_ novel? Sure enough, the man was sitting back on one of the rouge-colored couches, his face nearly as red as the furniture as he turned the page in his book.

"S-Sensei...?!" she cried, not sure whether she should apologize or berate her teacher. He looked up, acting as though he were doing nothing more than grading homework.

"Haruno-chan? What are you doing here?" he questioned, snapping his book shut after marking the page.

Sakura quickly got over her earlier embarrassment and regained her full voice. "Sensei, that Gaara boy has found Sasuke-kun."

Kakashi immediately turned serious at the mentioning of the two boys' names. "Yes, Iruka-san and I deduced that yesterday, Sakura-chan."

"B-but... now he's in Sasuke's room," Sakura finished. Kakashi stood in a flash, before disappearing out the door. "Wait!" Sakura hurried after the man, the fear gripping at her more than before.

-

Sasuke had turned back around to his homework, and finished the last two sentences. Giving a sigh, partially of defeat and also of something else, he folded up his books, stuffing the notebook papers into them, and slipped them into his backpack. He then began changing into his uniform, but before he finished buttoning up the shirt, the room door clicked open.

He looked up, expecting to see Haku, but saw another all-too-familiar face instead.

"Gaara...." he murmured, unconsciously backing up. Gaara proceeded to closing the distance between them. When the backs of Sasuke's legs hit the side of his bed, he obediently sat upon it, unable to move further as Gaara approached.

Just as quickly, Haku's voice came from the other side of the locked door, accompanied by the frantic boy's knocks. "Uchiha-kun! Sasuke!!"

Sasuke tried to look past him to the door, but Gaara blocked his sight. The boy eyed Sasuke like a predator watching its prey, his icy eyes framed by blackness. "Sasuke...," Gaara began, his tone curt and cutting. "You wear it, but you know you don't deserve to."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his left hand clenched. ".... why do you keep doing this?" he asked, his voice beginning as nothing more than a whisper before growing in strength as his anger did. "Why do you keep _following_ me?!"

There was a sudden, sharp pain at the side of the Uchiha's head, as Gaara's hand found its way into his ebony locks. The blue-eyed male pulled Sasuke up to where he was, Sasuke's own grip attempting to crush Gaara's offending hold. The redhead seemed barely fazed, however, and continued his attack on the other boy.

"Sasuke," Gaara stated, his face tilted mere inches away from Sasuke's as he spoke, "your brother only wants to keep people from hurting you." He tossed the male back onto the bed single-handedly, scowling. "Much opposed to how _I_ believe you should be treated."

Sasuke winced and felt at his head, hoping for no permanent damage from the glaring male before him. "... Gaara..."

Gaara narrowed his vivid stare, looking upon Sasuke as if he were better than the Uchiha. "Do you still call my name in your sleep?" he inquired, leering. "You're pathetic."

"Then why do _you_ still wear that thing?!" Sasuke asked harshly, as he picked himself off of the bed. "If you ask me, you're the pathetic one." He smirked, standing from the other side. "Going on about how you hate everything... and then you brandish my ring's twin... _hypocrite_!"

Gaara scowled, before holding up his left hand. The silver ring gleamed off his finger, as the morning sun from the window reflected off its surface. "Your brother promised to give me you once this is over, Uchiha Sasuke," he stated, coldly. "And you know I _never_ lose..."

Sasuke retreated from these words, something telling him to run; however, there was nowhere to go in the small dorm. He had only taken another step back before he found himself lying trapped on the carpeted floor, under Gaara's weight.

"...stop....!" he breathed, his arms pinned to either side by his attacker's hands. Despite Gaara's looks, he was a lot stronger than he appeared. "Let me go..."

"Hn." Gaara seemed to study Sasuke for a moment, intent on just watching the boy's pained expression. "... You're the exact same person I left three years ago."

"And you're the same heartless bastard as you've ever been," Sasuke shot back, angrily. Gaara brushed the comment off, appearing not to hear it.

"Broody, unsure and afraid," Gaara stated, his words being his analysis on the male in his hold. "Just the way I left you." His words made the ends of his lips twitch upwards in amusement. "Perfect."

Sasuke glared back up at him, his bangs straggled over his eyes messily. "I am not afraid of you," he claimed, heatedly. "I fear no one."

"If not me, then Itachi," Gaara merely replied. Sasuke visibly flinched at the name. Gaara made a look of affirmation. "Who fears what, now...?" he sneered, before bringing a hand up to brush away Sasuke's veiling, dark bangs.

His one limb now free, Sasuke grabbed at Gaara moving arm. "Don't touch me," he hissed, warningly.

Just then, the dorm door audibly clicked. Gaara took one look behind him, before jumping up and thrusting the window open, leaping outside before anyone could enter.

"Gaara!" Sasuke cried, rolling over to get up before rushing to the windowsill. They were two stories up, the red-haired teen could have nary escaped unscathed. However, as he looked down, nothing could be seen on the grassy ground.

"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi's voice came, rousing Sasuke into whirling around to face the man. "Did he already leave?" The boy nodded, slowly. Kakashi mumbled incoherently before telling him not to move then stalking out the door, as Haku and Sakura entered. The two were soon followed by the many other girls who had also been waiting outside the door impatiently.

"Uchiha..." Haku began, but a look from Sasuke stopped him from ever finishing.

Sakura frowned, noticing this. "Sasuke-kun, he...." She quickly stopped, then glared back at the other girls in the room. "Hey! Go away!!"

"What?! Sakura, you forehead monster!!" Ino cried from the center of the mob. "This isn't your room!!"

"It isn't yours either, you dumb blonde!!" Sakura yelled back, furiously.

"Why I oughtta—!!"

"Shut up," Sasuke stated, the two girls doing just as he said. He walked between Haku and Sakura before pressing through the gang of females that had accumulated in the room. They let him go without another word, though Haku had other thoughts.

"Uchiha-kun!" he called, following Sasuke out the door. "Sensei told you to not move. Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," was the curt reply.

Haku glowered. "... stop walking right now!" Sasuke didn't listen. "Hey! I told you to stop!" He grabbed at the back of Sasuke's still not fully buttoned shirt and pulled him back to himself.

Sasuke pushed Haku away, refusing to look at him as he continued down the hall, no destination in mind. Haku refused to give up, and in desperation, grabbed the back of Sasuke's shoulders and rammed him into the closest wall.

"Damn—Yukio?!" Sasuke cried, the side of his face pressed up against the wallpaper so hard he thought Haku was trying to kill him. "This hurts...!" Haku had Sasuke's wrists together behind his back, and was pushing against them and Sasuke's head with his hands.

"Now you know how it feels, Sasuke...," Haku breathed near Sasuke's ear. "To have to just give up as someone does something to you that you don't want."

"I'm sorry," he suddenly apologized, wanting to be released. "... I didn't listen to you when you pushed me away..."

However, the pressure only increased further. "A little late, Uchiha-kun," Haku seethed. And then, just as suddenly, his hold was released.

Sasuke didn't move out of the way at first, thinking a trick was coming next. However, all he heard was an odd, unsteady breathing. It rose and fell in strange patterns, and he knew he'd heard it before. Sasuke slowly turned in place, not expecting to find a teary-eyed Haku glaring back at him.

"Yukio..." He suddenly felt even more ashamed than he thought he should have. For one thing, this was a _boy_ in front of him. But then, this was also Yukio Haku. And rules didn't seem to apply to him, of all people.

"You...," Haku began, his brows furrowed as he stared at Sasuke, "you don't know what it's like. To be forced to do something you don't want, and then... have to _care_ if you think something bad is going to happen to the person who was forcing you." His arms soon found themselves encasing Sasuke, tightly. "You're so unfair...," Haku mumbled into Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke stayed still, staring down at the male embracing him. "... you were worried?" he asked, doubtfully. Haku's head nodded up and down against his shoulder, though Sasuke could feel the obvious hesitation in answering. "I see..."

And then, Sasuke's own arms brought themselves over Haku, as he returned the gesture. "...Thank you... Haku."

-

_I feel like such a fool..., _Haku glanced over at the empty desk beside him. Sasuke didn't have to attend his classes today. No, he wasn't _allowed_ to. Haku's suspicions from a few days ago had apparently been correct, judging from the fact that the teachers seemed to be protecting Sasuke from this unknown force.

This force that was a red-haired boy named Gaara.

_I actually cared...,_ Haku returned his dark gaze forward, to the blank sheet of paper that lay before him on his desk. The class was supposed to be doing page 48 of their math book, but Haku couldn't focus. He stared at the numbers and they didn't want to give him answers.

Nothing wanted to give him the answers to anything.

_He's a heartless sex demon,_ Haku angrily mused, pressing his mechanical pencil against the paper so hard that the tip of the lead snapped, _and I feared for his life._ A defeated sigh escaped, as he clicked the pencil's top a few times for more lead. _Just like Zabuza-san._

"You might want to get to work, Yukio-chan," came a sudden voice from behind him. "That's due at the end of class." Haku nearly jumped in his seat. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was, though, after realizing it wasn't a threat.

"I-I'm sorry, Sensei," Haku apologized to Kakashi, still staring down the white sheet in front of him.

"You're thinking too much about other things," Kakashi pointed out, nonchalantly. Haku shrugged, but he didn't deny his teacher's words either. Then Kakashi's voice became lower, as he muttered, "Forget Sasuke-kun for a while. He'll be okay."

Haku nodded, and the silver-haired teacher meandered away, most likely off to read one of his books. Slowly, the boy looked over the first question again.

_If A equals B and C jointly, and D to the second power inversely, and A 15 when B 7, C6 , and D3, what does D equal when A35, B16 and C13?_

_... If that equals... and then divide by D squared... and... this doesn't make sense!!_ He scowled at the page before proceeding to writing something completely random on his lined paper just to get on to the next problem.

However, each problem Haku encountered was harder than the last. In truth, he probably could have easily solved them on any other day, but there was just something murking up his brain at the moment, and he couldn't think of anything else but that.

Uchiha Sasuke was the only thing on his mind.

-

"Did he give you any clue of what he is going to do next?" Iruka was staring at Sasuke inquiringly, the two currently situated in an empty classroom, the only light in the dim room coming from a clear, wide window from the side. Sasuke was seated in one of the desks, while Iruka was standing over him. They were completely alone, save for Zabuza (or, to Iruka, Mochi-san), leaning against the wall indifferently.

"No, but I'm pretty sure that it'll involve some form of homicide," Sasuke replied, his voice low and almost deriding. They had stuck him in one of the classes that would be empty for the whole day, just in case Gaara decided to come back.

Iruka looked deep in thought. "I may have to agree with you on that..." His expression only deepened in seriousness when he added more. "If worse comes to worse, we'll have to protect our students, Sasuke. I hope you're aware of that."

Sasuke narrowed his stare. "Does that mean something special?"

Nodding, the teacher continued, "Yes... we'll have to ask you to leave if it seems that the girls' safety will be risked by you staying here."

"What?!" Sasuke had quickly stood, his face paler than usual. "You can't just abandon me! Can't I just be moved to someplace other than the dorms? Don't kick me out entirely...!"

Iruka shook his head. "I'm sorry but that is the principal's place to decide, Sasuke. Not mine, nor your own." Suddenly, the bell rang overhead. Iruka checked his watch, and made a move to leave the room, gathering his notebooks off a neighboring desk.

"Wait, you're going to leave me here?" Sasuke questioned, incredulously.

"No... Mochi-san is here, too," Iruka pointed out, before turning back to the door once more. "I'll see you again in about two hours." Sasuke looked over at Zabuza, a glare beginning to harden in his eyes.

The mysterious man eyed him back. "...what?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but then the door creaked open again. He quickly turned to see who it was, eyes widening.

"Uchiha-kun! So this is where they're keeping you," Haku laughed, still staying by the door.

"Yukio...?" Sasuke stood, but then looked back at Zabuza, wondering if the man was going to do anything against it. Zabuza was staring out the window though, acting as though he were completely alone, so Sasuke went forward.

Haku glanced over at the wall to see what Sasuke was looking at, taking a sharp breath when he saw who it was. "Za...," he quickly stopped himself, lowering his eyes to the floor.

Sasuke had already reached Haku by that time. "What are you doing here?" he asked, attempting to pull Haku's thoughts away from Zabuza. "I don't think anyone's allowed to see me today..."

Haku shook his head. "I don't care... and besides, Sakura-chan told me to check," he answered, smiling softly, even if the expression was only to pretend he was thinking normally. "She's always... you know, _worrying_... about you...."

Sasuke arched a brow. "Really...? Why didn't she come too, then?" he wondered aloud, testing Haku.

The cross-dressing boy caught the false-wondering tone of Sasuke's, scowling. "She didn't want to be late and I guess I don't really care about reaching science class on time," he stated, covering up his tracks. In truth, he hadn't seen Sakura since early that morning. "So... seeing as how I probably only have two minutes left, tell me what kinds of torture they're putting you through."

Sasuke smirked, shrugging. "Eh, the usual. Dripping candles, dangerously dark rooms, plus Asuma-san dressed up as Tsunade-san, wig and all," he said, casually. "Quite cruel and unusual, that last one."

Haku snorted. "I dunno, you seem to get your kicks out of that kind of stuff, if you ask me," he remarked, rolling his eyes.

"You're not one to talk," Sasuke commented, with a prod to Haku's forehead using a finger, "I hope you know.

Haku brushed Sasuke's hand away, sighing, "Yeah." He stared at the navy blue tie around Sasuke's neck, in silence.

"... Yukio? Maybe you should go now, you'll be late."

Haku looked up, realization dawning back onto him. "Oh, right. Wait a second," he said, reaching for the uniform accessory that hung from Sasuke's neck.

"What?"

He seemed to pull something off it, then stood back. "Nothing, just saw something," he replied, smiling. Before leaving the doorway, he waved a small goodbye. "I'll come back later." Before Sasuke could protest this, Haku hurried away.

A few seconds later, as Sasuke returned to his seat quietly, the late-bell rang. _I hope that moron got there on time,_ he thought, sitting down. A few more minutes passed, though they seemed more like hours upon hours in the dark silence. Sasuke was vaguely wondering when Iruka would return, while also cursing the fact he hadn't brought anything to read.

_I could easily be reading about Meena by now..._ he mused with indistinct annoyance, thinking of the book he had back at the dorm labeled _May I...?_ Sasuke glared over at where Zabuza had been standing, but found the man to have disappeared.

He almost stood, expecting Gaara to be behind this, but a hand clasped itself firmly on his shoulder. Sasuke physically shuddered, a side-effect from the surge of surprise that zipped through him. He quickly looked up, seeing Zabuza as the cause. The surprise promptly faded, though some still lingered faintly.

"... you... scared me," Sasuke half admitted, half accused.

"Right," Zabuza replied, retreating his hand from the boy's shoulder, much to Sasuke's relief. Something about the man Haku seemed to be so fond of made Sasuke quite uneasy. Was it because he reminded him of a much older Gaara...?

"What do you want?" Sasuke finally gained the urge to ask, after some uncomfortable moments of silence.

Zabuza lazily sat down in the desk besides Sasuke's, a firm, dead stare fixed on the spiky-haired teen. "Nothing."

His course voice echoed in Sasuke's mind, even if the room didn't resound quite as much. "... okay..." Sasuke was about to turn elsewhere, when Zabuza's voice broke the air again.

"I meant Haku." Soon, Zabuza found himself faced with one of Sasuke's famous glares.

"How can you mistake the two?" Sasuke questioned, suddenly finding it hard to keep his voice from being spoken with an edge.

Zabuza shrugged. "It's true though, isn't it?" he voiced, not quite expecting Sasuke's heated stare to increase in anger. He'd thought Sasuke might have found Haku to be a nice acquaintance, but not as someone to get flustered over. "What's wrong, _Uchiha__-kun_?" he asked, putting emphasis on Haku's name for the boy.

"How can you say that about him?" Sasuke angrily asked, unable to look at Zabuza further. Instead, Sasuke glared at the desk he was sitting at. "He... practically _worships_ you...," he murmured.

"Before you say I'm heartless," Zabuza began, "realize that you and I are a lot more alike than you believe." He held an expression of amusement in his eyes, though his face still held the coldness it always seemed to.

Sasuke shot him another dirty look. "I'm not like you. At least I don't _mean_ to hurt him," he retorted, remembering clearly the bruise Haku gained on his arm a week before, "if that's what you're talking about..."

Zabuza seemed to look at Sasuke in questioning, tilting his head to one side. "You don't _mean_ to hurt him?" he repeated. "Oh, but that isn't what I speak of. You say Haku worships me. Well, all the girls in school worship you, and I don't exactly see you reveling in this fact."

"That's different," Sasuke argued, his voice rising. "Those girls only like me because of the way I look. But, Haku.... Yukio even said he... loved you." Just the night before he seemed to have admitted it. In an enigmatic way, but nonetheless...

_"Sadist.... My first love was.... _is_.... a secret."_

"And... of course I don't mean to hurt him," Sasuke continued. "It just turns out that way. A lot."

This time Zabuza smiled for real, a malicious glint in his pale eyes. "Aren't you sincere...," he sneered. "Are you sure those ladies don't love you for something other than your looks?"

Sasuke didn't want to talk to this man anymore. He couldn't see why Haku was always tripping over himself just to see Zabuza, much less talk to him. It seemed so unrequited.

Zabuza stood, figuring that was the end of the conversation as well. However, as he made his way back over to the wall, he stated, "No wonder Gaara thinks you're so much fun."

A jolt went through Sasuke, though he stayed silent. At first, he thought that Zabuza knew who Gaara was, but quickly recoiled from the idea. _He's just trying to irk me..._ he thought, staring at an impression that had been made on his desk. _His name is probably all this guy knows._

"You still wear his ring, right?" came Zabuza's voice once more, and Sasuke suddenly felt the need to hide his left hand in under the desk. Zabuza had continued staring out the window by then, though a smirk was quite visible on his face. "How darling... your first love was a homicidal maniac. You and Haku have more in common than you knew!"

"Shut up..." Sasuke hissed, staring heatedly at the engraving now. He wanted to scratch at it and mar the desk further, perhaps to block out Zabuza's derisive words.

"Gaara doesn't talk about you a lot, though," Zabuza suddenly said, his tone changing to one of mock thoughtfulness. "Though your brother sure seems fond of you from the way he's always making someone follow you..."

"Stop it!!" Sasuke cried. He glared at Zabuza, who was merely staring out onto the outside scenery. "How do you know them? Who are you...?!"

Zabuza glanced over at Sasuke, appearing smug. "Haku's first love."

Sasuke growled, "Why do you keep bringing up Gaara and now Itachi as if you know them? I could tell Iruka-san, you moron. Ever thought of that?!"

Zabuza shrugged, before stating, "Only if you felt it was worth Haku's life."

Sasuke's glare was replaced by a look of utter disbelief. "You...."

The man sighed, his scornful smirk still etched on his face. "If that's what it takes to keep your silence, I will kill him gladly. And you know _he_ won't think twice if I ask him to meet me after school," Zabuza said, coolly. "He'll gladly do whatever I ask. Even if I made him kill _himself_."

The teen stood, swiftly. "You're too arrogant, what makes you say he'd go that far." His eyes narrowed. "He's devoted but he's not stupid..."

"No," Zabuza agreed, surprising Sasuke to a certain degree. "But, he is my tool and he _will_ listen to me. So don't expect to be able to tell that dimwitted Iruka anything about what I've said. Otherwise...." he trailed off, returning his eyes to the window.

Sasuke sat back down, nervously. He was stuck in a room with one of Gaara's allies. This wasn't exactly picture perfect...

-

After notes: Myah, I wanted to write more, but then I figured this was a good place to end it. -.-0 I have to go back to school anyway, so I'm also sleeping early tonight. ANYWHO, Zabuza and Sasuke meet and chat! GASP. And Sasuke seems to now have an abiding hatred for Zabuza! DOUBLE GASP. Oh, and Haku seems fundamentally more broody than usual, while at the same time turning all cheerful and happy and more Haku-ish. YAY. Oh, and I got a haircut and now I look like Sasuke's mom rather than a bland version of Haku. ....um, I guess that's a yay? xD I officially look like the woman who bore the Uchiha brothers, so yes! DOUBLE YAY. I'm going to cosplay as her now at the next convention I go to. TRIPLE YAY... I think. –blink- Anyways, here are the reviews. :D

Autumn-Firefly: Oh YEAH. Another new reader... -dance dance revolutionizes- xDD By the way, have you written up that awesome fanfic I read you hinting about in that one poem you wrote...? -is all interested in it and junk- X3 It sounds awesome-possum. And I wrote more, so now do I get Sasuke-kun back? -grin- Thanks for reviewing, la!

rumor: I'm glad you like it. I've written more, so may I presume you'll be reading it/have read it? Thank you for reviewing, by the by!!

HimitsuXHimitsu: Waaaiii, you're too kind. xDDD It's addicting! Yay. -happy dance- Thanky swanky for reviewing and telling me you like it!!! -hug- And yes, Haku-kun DOES rock.... x3

Miszy-Anne: XDDD I like the way you cried, "GARAH!!" And there's more Gaara in this chapter! Are you happy now? :3 He'll be popping up again several times in the future, so don't worry. So don't die!! I've updated. -glomp-

Sabaku-no-Ai: XD You are the Desert's Love...? Hmmmm.... sounds like a fanfic title to me.... -ponder ponder- Anyways, And Gaara IS the hotness. -points to own penname- I'm his sandy slave. -laughs insanely- And I can't slap yewww!!!11fiveseven!! You are a reviewer. -pat- Sankyu for reviewing, by the way! n.n

Monkey Shoes: -laugh- You don't like giggle-snorting? x) Oh VELL. Do you know who gave him the ring NOW, though...? -huggle- Thank you for reviewing all this time....!

Mizura Enoki: -glomp- You said it was fantastic AND creative! I luuuuufffff yeeewwww! xD Thank you for reviewing!!

mewlw: n.n I'm glad you like it. I aim to please, after all...! ((as long as it doesn't upset the plotline, anyway. xD)) Thankies for your kind words!

Mappel: -uberglomp- You always give me such awesome-possum reviews!!! I heart you! I do believe Haku to probably be the only male who can make this idea work, too. :D Unless Kimimaro is also involved... but he's not. Oh VELL. -grin- There do seem to be more male teachers than female ones here.... -sigh- o.o; Well, at least we can imagine what all those male teachers are doing in the teacher lounge...... -snicker- ...by the by, who _doesn't_ want a taste of Sasuke?! xD Only natural to have the same here.

Hana J: -blush- Well written_and_ original? You're too kind. n.n;;; I've noticed a lot of similar things in High School fanfics, so I try to steer away from them while at the same time making it interesting for people... which doesn't _always_ work, but I suppose I got lucky here. -big shmeesy grin- Weee! Thanky swanky for your thoughts!

Mintvee: You have a lot of questions, m'dear...! XD That's okay though, because I think I answered a couple of them in this chapter. Well... besides Haku's favorite color... x3 Personally, I think his favorite color is white, but that's just my view. I mean, he is named after it and all.... xDDD So it would make sense. But YEAH! Most of your other things were answered. Huzzah!

Thank you all for reviewing, and I hope you aren't so confused anymore! XD;; Maybe that's my fault.... but anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And here's a weird random preview for the next one (seeing as how I've already written some of it)).  
_Coming up_: Gyah, Sasuke and Naruto scenes, Haku and Zabuza scenes, and you can bet there will be tears coming from one person or another. –squee- Oh, and Sakura-chan comes back. Boo. ((I'm kidding, for all those Sakura-chan fans... n.n;;;))

Now... **Review!!**


	10. His Life or Yours

Info: Thank you, people that commented on the last chapter!! x3; But now I must confess. OKAY! I lied... there are no actual Sasuke AND Naruto scenes... though there ARE Sasuke scenes and Naruto scenes. Yes, Naruto gets to appear without Sasuke! Huzzah, I think? xD Anyways, this chapter gets really, really dark at the end. O.o; I don't know why I did this, and why it's like this, but I guess the way I planned it just seems weird to me or something. Meh. And Haku is more like Haku from the original storyline too, sob story and all. x3 Sasuke gets to be a hero, and Naruto is his own adorable self. So, even if they aren't together here, you should enjoy it. No attacking me, then.

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto. Myah, I'm sort of glad I don't, too, because I could NEVER create such a cool character like Gaara. xDDD

**Chapter 10 **— His Life or Yours

-

When the bell rang at noon, Haku left his Writing class to go to the classroom that they were keeping Sasuke in. He went there only _partially_ to see Sasuke; the one Haku was really interested in was Zabuza, who seemed to be the one to watch the boy whenever Iruka or Kakashi wasn't. However, before Haku could get to the door, he was grabbed by the arm and pulled the other way.

"What?" The first thing he saw was pink hair as he turned, realizing it to be Sakura. "Oh, hello."

"Don't 'Oh, hello' me, Haku-kun," she stated, stopping to glare at the boy. "Where are you going? I haven't seen you since this morning! You didn't even tell me where they were keeping Sasuke during Kakashi-sensei's class!! How could you?" A gasp followed. "Are you in cahoots with Ino?!"

Haku smiled nervously. "To be honest... I was just going to go find you so we could see him together," he lied, as she watched him carefully.

"Oh really...?" she asked, though her suspicious stare nary faded. He nodded in assurance. Anything to get off of being viciously attacked by one of Sasuke's fangirls. "....well, okay. Where is he?"

Haku lead Sakura to the seemingly empty room, and when she gave him a wary look, he told her to peek in through the door's small window at the top to make sure.

She did so and beamed, thus proving that Haku was telling the truth. "Yes! And it's dark... ah, I would kill to be with Sasuke in the dark...." Sakura shot a glare at Haku. "Damn you, you get to sleep in the same room...."

_Worse than that..._ "He isn't _that_ special," Haku murmured back, a scene from the night before immediately flashing in front of his eyes, despite the emotionless look he was giving Sakura. ".... even with his shirt off...."

"What?" Sakura was back to trying to get a better look of Sasuke in the dark, only half paying attention to her friend.

"I didn't say anything," he quickly said, knocking on the door.

"Ah! What are you doing?!" she cried, looking around. "Aren't we supposed to go in incognito-style or something?! I thought we weren't allowed!"

"We aren't," Haku replied, opening the door after. "It's just that last time I busted in without warning, Sasuke looked like he was going to have a heart attack."

"Oh... hey, wait!" But Sakura was already pulled into the room by Haku.

Sasuke turned around in his seat at the front of the room, but he didn't get up. "Again?" he asked, almost exasperatedly.

Haku nodded, chancing a glance at Zabuza before saying, "And Sakura-chan is here, too."

"I could see that," he stated. Sakura waved, still enthralled in how the sunlight streaming in through the window lit up half of Sasuke's face. He arched a brow at her silence, and slowly waved back as if she were a small child. "You can't stay here," he said, looking back at Haku. "Iruka said he'd come back by now."

"Oh, right, well..." Haku quickly linked arms with Sakura, aiming to probably have to drag her out of the room. "I—we just wanted to see if you were lonely. And apparently _she_ also wanted to wave moronically at you, so I guess our job is done." He grinned, backing out of the room.

"You don't have to keep checking on me, Haku," Sasuke said, flatly. "I'll see you at the dorm... _after_ school." He added the latter part of the sentence, hoping it would keep Haku from being lured anywhere by Zabuza.

The cross-dressing boy nodded and proceeded to pulling Sakura along. "Bye...!" When the door closed, Sasuke stared heatedly at Zabuza.

"Stop pretending like he doesn't exist," Sasuke stated, his tone different from the stoic one of just a few seconds before, when Haku and Sakura were in the room. "You know as well as I do that he's only coming here to see _you_."

Zabuza didn't answer and continued sitting quietly in his chair, watching the trees outside.

-

Haku found that particular day to be the hardest day to eat lunch ever. Ino and the rest of the Sasuke groupies had swarmed around his and Sakura's table, asking their never-ending questions of their beloved Uchiha, most of them centering around where the boy was.

"I don't _know_," he'd answered for the umpteenth time, sounding more than just a little annoyed. "So please leave me alone."

"No way," one girl replied. "You're his roommate! You get to be up to date on everything Sasuke!!"

"Yeah, it's not fair you get to keep him all for yourself, too!" another cried.

Haku twitched, trying to ignore them and just enjoy his orange soda. However, even the fruit-flavored drink wasn't enough to rid his mind of their griping cries. Sakura, on the other hand, was simply _much_ too busy remembering the way Sasuke looked like without the light on to even notice that she and Haku were being half-mobbed by their classmates. She looked more than dazed with the stars in her green eyes.

"I'm not keeping him all to myself..." Haku began, the grip on his soda can strengthening with each moan and groan of the crowd, "... I don't even _want_ him!"

"Humph, really?" Ino folded her arms in obvious disbelief. "Then why were you hugging him this morning, eh?!"

Crush! went the aluminum can, and Swoosh! went Haku out of his seat. He stalked away, tossing the container into a trash bin before leaving the cafeteria, with nothing on his face but a scowl and an intense blush that had suddenly appeared.

He went straight to his locker, intent on getting his things ready for his next class, but his hand stopped right in front of the lock. It hung in the air for a few moments, as Haku pondered his decision. Finally making up his mind, Haku turned and left the locker closed, his next destination being the front of the school.

As he walked past the double doors that were the entrance of St. Ruto's School for Girls, the cross-dresser faintly heard the voice of one of the hallway supervisors yelling for him to stop and turn back around. Haku pretended not to listen, however, and continued making his way off of school grounds.

He walked and walked down the white sidewalk, unsure of where he was going exactly. But anger and embarrassment was what drove him forward, plus a multitude of other emotions that he had been holding inside of him since coming to the school in the first place.

"This is so stupid..." His hand reached up, ripping the navy blue cloth headband from his hair before tossing it behind him. Haku then broke into a run, something just telling him to go wherever he was headed faster. "I... give up...."

Just as his surroundings began to blur into one big mess, the teen stopped in his tracks, only to find where he was to be all too familiar. He only took one step more before realizing that the ground had changed to something else. He didn't have to look down to know that he was standing on sand. It was the same kind used to fill up playgrounds, to cushion children's clumsy falls off of the equipment.

He'd been in this situation before, standing on the sand on the edge of a playground. Maybe not exactly _this_ place, but somewhere almost like it. A gust of wind suddenly touched at him, pulling Haku back to the reality that he wasn't where he was supposed to be. A new fear reached out, one that said he was going to be in trouble for running off. But that was quickly quelled when he realized it wouldn't matter anyway. He had given up on this way, right?

Haku walked up to a swing set, his shoulder accidentally hitting one of the cold metal poles that supported the thing. Ignoring the blunt attack, he sat down in one of the swings with a sigh, gripping the rusted link chains on either side of him. A wave of definite nostalgia swept over him, as the boy stared at his bare legs in front of him. They weren't there before, when he was younger. Back then, he was small enough to look down and see the sand below without having to move his feet. He had to tuck his skirt in at the sides to keep it from blowing up as another gust of wind flew by.

_I feel so foolish dressed like this now..._ Haku was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone else sit beside him. That was, until that someone else spoke.

"Yo."

Haku quickly looked up in surprise. "Uh...? Hello?" he searched for a greeting to give in reply to this stranger in an orange shirt. Orange? _Odd sense of fashion..._, Haku noted.

The other boy grinned. "Did I scare you?" Haku looked at him curiously, shaking his head no. There was something familiar about that blonde spiky hair... and more specifically those eyes. Why couldn't he remember where he'd seen them before?

"Have we... met before?" Haku asked, raising his eyebrows. The blond took another look at Haku, then shook his head.

"Nah. I'd've remembered you," he replied, a smirk still on his face. Haku didn't know whether to think that was a compliment, or a tacky pick-up line. "...so, what's a girl like you doing here? That's a St. Ruto's uniform, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah..." Haku said, still trying to place where he'd seen this other male before.

The blond blinked. "Not much for conversation, are you?" he said jokingly. "Are you skipping class? I know that school isn't out yet; I've got a friend who goes there."

"Skipping...?" Haku repeated, quirking a brow. "...sort of, I guess. What about you? It's only noon. I don't think any schools are out yet."

"Hah, well," the blond laughed, shifting in his swing, "I didn't exactly study for this test in Civics, so... you get the idea."

The cross-dressing boy nodded, though he eyed the blond warily. "That doesn't sound like something you should be proud of..."

"Oh, I'm not," he assured, his expression changing swiftly. "I was just in a tight bind, and I guess I had to get away."

Haku looked back down. "Hm. I know what you mean." And then he gasped, eyes widening as he looked back at the boy. Now he remembered! "You... you're...—"

The blond stared back at Haku incredulously. "What...?"

"Oh um..." Haku regained his form quickly, looking for a better way to ask, "D-do you know a kid named Uchiha Sasuke...?"

Naruto nodded, all too enthusiastically. "Yeah! That's the friend I was talking about!! You know him? Wait, what am I saying?! Of course _you_ know him! _All_ the girls know him."

Haku stared blankly at the blue-eyed boy. This was him. _The_ Uzumaki Naruto, the one Sakura hated the most, and the one that Sasuke.....

"You're Uzumaki-san, then, aren't you?" Haku asked, receiving a grin from Naruto.

"Yup, I suppose that's me," he replied. "Why, does Sasuke talk about me?" Then he frowned. "Or do you know Sakura-chan too, and _she's_ the one always talking about me...?"

"Um, yes. I know both of them." Haku still couldn't keep his eyes off of this character. Was _this _the one Sasuke was supposedly dating? Or being friends-with-benefits with, whatever their relationship was about? _How the hell...? What spurred Uchiha into falling love with him? They're so opposite of each other!_

The blonde looked at Haku oddly. "Hn? Why do you keep staring at me?" he asked, starting to feel highly scrutinized by this 'school girl.' "... do I look weird or something....?!"

Haku shook his head. "No, no... um... I'm just glad to finally meet you, Uzumaki-kun," he said.

Naruto suddenly felt embarrassed having this girl actually tell him that she was glad to meet him. Glad! That was a change. "Aw, hehe... thanks, I guess? Um, you can call me Naruto, by the way," he offered, pink tinting his face.

"Okay," said Haku. "My name is Yukio Haku."

"That's a nice.... wait WHAT?!" Naruto jumped out of his swing in surprise. "You're Yukio?!?!"

Haku blinked, nonplussed. "Um... I'm guessing that Uchiha-kun told you about me?"

Naruto proceeded to staring Haku up and down.

"What... what are you doing?" he asked Naruto incredulously. Then, swiftly, one of the blonde's hands reached out, lifting up Haku's skirt with such a force that Haku nearly fell out of the swing. The cross-dressing male ended up smacking Naruto five feet away after a very surprised yell.

"Agh, what do you think you're doing?!" Haku cried, watching the immobilized boy with a wary glare. "No wonder Sakura-chan loathes you!"

Naruto stood, the red mark on his face pretty much ignored on his part. "He's right...! You _do_ look like a girl! And here I was expecting something much less," he said, apparently too amazed to even register the fact he'd just been attacked. "Sheesh... you're even cuter than _most_ girls...."

Haku looked annoyed, partially because he was being complimented by someone who just tried to flip his skirt, and also because the one complimenting him knew he was actually a boy.

"Sasuke told you?" he asked Naruto. The blonde dumbly nodded, walking around Haku now as if he were an exhibit on display, his blue eyes glancing up and down the cross-dressing male's figure. "When did he tell you?!"

How long had Sasuke known about the truth, really? Had he just figured it out? Or had he known since the day he took Haku to the school from the bus stop?

Naruto looked up at Haku, seemingly satisfied with his inspection. "On Monday. Seemed sort of angry too, if you ask me." He narrowed his cerulean eyes. "Did you try to seduce him?"

"No!" Haku cried. "And on Monday?" He paused, thinking. How had Sasuke figured it out? Haku had to know. "Um... do you have the time?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Naruto pulled up one of his orange sleeves, revealing a watch. He took one look at it, then showed it to Haku without saying anything, too lazy to try and decipher the exact time. "Here."

Haku blinked._ Almost __one thirty__... I should get back at about two if I run again._ He thanked Naruto, then waved before running off.

"What?! Hey, wait!" Naruto called after him, before deciding it a lost cause as Haku disappeared around a corner. "Hn... he's not _so_ bad after all," the blonde decided, shrugging, as he put his hands behind his head casually. "Don't know why Sasuke hates him so much, though..."

-

About an hour had passed since Iruka had come back to watch over Sasuke. He was grading papers over at the table, Zabuza now gone from the room to do other things. Sasuke had suddenly felt extremely nervous when Zabuza had walked by his desk as he left the room, whispering, "I'll know," and he seemed to still be suffering from the effects.

Sasuke was in full-blown brooding mode, glancing up at Iruka at the table once or twice every few minutes. He wanted to say something. There was no way Zabuza would know... could he have rigged up a microphone? Then Sasuke could write it. Iruka would believe him... maybe. No, most likely. He still had to stay somewhat positive, despite that being quite out of his nature.

The entire time, Sasuke had this deep urge to just jump up, point to the door, and yell, "He's with Gaara!" It would've been better than just sitting there, the opportunity taunting him before his eyes. By staying silent, he was assuring that Haku would probably live one more day. But then he was also sealing his own fate; Zabuza would probably be the one to kill Uchiha Sasuke more than anything. During the night, when he was most vulnerable.

But if he spoke... he'd lessen his death chances considerably, right? Haku would be the one to pay, though. Sasuke lowered his gaze back down from Iruka's form in the corner. And he didn't want to _see_ death anymore than he wanted to feel it. And Sasuke knew they would make his see it. Haku's body would probably be strewn across his bed when he woke up, bloody and matted.

A nightmare? He could only wish for it to be so. But maybe... if they got rid of Zabuza fast enough... he couldn't do anything to Haku.

"Iruka-sensei."

The man looked up from his work, a puzzled expression on his face. "Hm, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke didn't return the eye contact. He merely stayed as he was, as if he wasn't speaking at all. "Mochi-sensei... Zabuza... he isn't a real—"

The door at the back of the class flew open, cutting him off. Sasuke turned, expecting Haku to be on the other side. Or, more hoping than expecting due to the fear that it would be the one person that would prove this situation was worse than he'd originally thought.

"Mochi-san?" Iruka questioned, Zabuza standing on the other side. He looked about as indifferent as ever, though Sasuke could see a hidden intent behind that facade.

_So he could hear...._

"One of the students has run off," he stated, simply, a look shot over at Sasuke as he spoke, "and has not yet returned. I've been told to go find her. I may be gone awhile, so you know not to ask me to watch Uchiha when you leave."

Iruka nodded, now standing. "Which student is it, by the by?"

"Yukio Haku." At these words, Sasuke winced, before nearly stumbling as he got out of his chair.

"I'll look for her," Sasuke quickly said, closing the distance between him and Zabuza. "You probably have a class to teach next period."

Zabuza eyed Sasuke. "It's too dangerous for you to go anywhere but your dorm, boy," he replied.

"Sasuke, just sit back down and let a teacher handle this," Iruka stated from far behind. When Sasuke looked back, he saw that the man had already sat back down.

"But, I'm not doing anything. And I bet I know where Haku would be," Sasuke argued.

"Hn." Sasuke turned back to face Zabuza, the taller man staring down at him with daggers. "You are such a romantic, aren't you?" he asked, patting Sasuke's head as if he were a child. "Run back to your desk now, and be _good_," Zabuza hissed out the last word, before pushing Sasuke back and shutting the door after himself.

Sasuke stared at the door, then back at Iruka. "..... Iruka-sensei...."

"I won't hear of it, Sasuke," the teacher said, loudly, brushing away any other argument Sasuke may have attempted to make. Sasuke sulked back to his desk, trying to brush off the macabre thoughts that threatened his mind. He couldn't even attempt to glare at Iruka.

A few minutes passed, then Iruka stood, taking one of his papers with him off his desk. "Now don't leave the room, I have to bring this to the office," he ordered, before leaving Sasuke alone.

Sasuke barely thought twice. He quickly looked back at the door as it was pulled shut, before rushing to the wide window at the side of the room. He flicked open the lock on the window, before pulling the thing up. He figured that leaving out the front door would be too obvious, so the window was the next best thing. Besides, the door's way of exit would probably have him bump into Iruka or Kakashi.

Sasuke crawled out of the window as fast as he could, while trying not to fall on either side of the border. As soon as his feet touched the ground, and his head was not in the way, Sasuke pulled the window shut and ran off, taking the long way around the school so as to ensure no one could see him out of any other windows.

As soon as he was home free and out of school bounds, he began sprinting down the whitewashed sidewalk. The faster he got to wherever Zabuza and Haku were, the less likely he was to be too late.

The sun was bright compared to the dark room he'd been in most of the day. Why they hadn't just turned on the lights was a mystery to Sasuke. He turned around a corner, nearly falling over in the process. Why had Haku ran away, anyhow? He had been perfectly fine when he saw the cross-dresser before lunch.

Maybe Zabuza had known he would say something to Iruka and told Haku to create a diversion? But, then that would mean that Haku was in on it, right? Not in all the possible situations.... What if Haku left by his own will?

_What would make him want to leave?_ Sasuke then wondered, his pace only slowing by a fraction. His legs had begun to burn, and now he had the distinct feeling he was going the wrong way. The Uchiha looked around, recognizing this place as one way to get to Naruto's house. It was the longest way, of course, which was why he only used it when he was walking with Naruto back to the dorm. He then began slowing further and further down until he was practically dragging his feet across the cement. Maybe Haku went the other way...

Then something caught his eye in the distance, across the street. It had looked like a weird, small animal at first, maybe a squirrel, but then Sasuke had realized it was blue. He looked both ways for any passing cars before crossing over to the other side. That was when he truly recognized the object. He picked it up, the dark blue fabric soft against his fingers.

Haku's headband. He roughly tied it onto his wrist, his feet once more moving at a slow walking pace, and once the cloth was secure Sasuke began running again. Haku _had_ been here. He actually stood a chance of finding the other boy.

-

Haku suddenly didn't feel the need to get back before school let out. Maybe it would be better if he just pretended nothing happened on Monday?

_Oh, that's right,_ he realized, his expression brightening extensively. _Today's Friday. Yay._ He mentally celebrated this notion, before realizing he had to deal with Sasuke for the next two days. _Darn, I forgot that part._

He began staring at the tall, wooden fence as he walked. It must've been new, it had that new wood color to it and it wasn't graying like the school's fence. As he turned another corner, still admiring the fence, Haku nearly collided with someone but managed to catch himself before doing so.

"Ah, sorry, si—" He cut off, finding himself staring up at Zabuza. "Zabuza-san..."

"Haku," the man replied, arching an unseen brow at the boy. "I've come to find you. You ran away, which can't mean anything good." His words masked the malicious energy around him.

"I'm sorry, Zabuza-san," Haku said, looking off to the side. "I was just... angry at something. And I wanted to give up."

"Give up on what, Haku?" Zabuza questioned, a mocking calm in his voice.

The teen hesitated before answering. "On you." He was suddenly pushed against the fence he had been looking at moment before, one of Zabuza's arms above his head, the other at his shoulder. "Zabuza-san...?!"

"Don't be afraid," the man murmured, his voice low as he whispered into Haku's ear. Haku could feel a familiar heat spread to his face, and hoped Zabuza wouldn't notice.

"I'm... not," he replied, though he felt himself suppressing a shudder from the inside out.

"Good."

-

Sasuke pressed onward, though he thought the heat was going to eventually get to him. "Haku...," he breathed, stopping only once to lean against a fence beside him. "Damn you," he cursed the boy for making him have to run and look for him.

-

"Close your eyes," Zabuza stated, Haku not even thinking twice as he obeyed. "This might hurt," he then added, Haku barely flinching at his words. Pulling a long knife from under his shirt, the thing having been tucked into his belt, he slid it gently against Haku's neck.

The boy tried not to open his eyes, half out of fear for what he thought it was, and half because he didn't want to show he was afraid, as the cold metal touched his skin.

"One... two..." Zabuza slowly counted, pulling knife up. "Three."

Haku's eyes shot open, a searing pain flashing across his chest. He stumbled sideways, his hands immediately grabbing at the spot. Looking down, his once white shirt was slowly turning red, his hands stained in the same color. A huge gash had been made across his chest, starting below the collarbone, trailing off in one deep line until it met its end directly diagonally of its start. He looked up at Zabuza in fear.

"Za... Zabuza-san....?" he asked, looking for the fence behind him as support, feeling lightheaded. His hands left bloody imprints upon the new wood. Zabuza grabbed him roughly by the wrist, yanking him back to him.

"You said you were mine to kill freely," he stated, tonelessly. "Don't worry, your time isn't here yet," Zabuza added, as Haku stared up at him with pleading eyes. "I just have to show that Uchiha boy that I mean what I say. Then you'll be free to frolic in your _skirts_ and _bows_ until he finally breaks," he spat.

Haku didn't speak again, though he didn't try to fight the next slash either. This time, it crossed with the previous attack, creating an X across his chest. His shirt was almost completely red then, and Haku could feel himself weaving in and out of conscious with pain and blood loss. He felt it hard to breathe, maybe because his body didn't want to, and struggled with every intake of air.

Zabuza tilted his head, as if admiring his 'work.' "Hm... maybe I should just kill you off here, right now," he mused aloud. "It would certainly prove a point to the Uchiha... he wouldn't think I was merely toying about. Heh, though I am." Zabuza stood back, releasing the cross-dressing boy. "You look ready to die, anyhow. Maybe twice was too much? Oh well." He watched Haku waver forward and backwards, looking ready to fall. Smirking, he pushed the boy back, Haku nary having a chance to keep himself from hitting the ground.

He fell back, hitting the concrete harshly, though not feeling the pain that should've accompanied such a dizzying fall. "Za.... bu.... za.... san....." he managed to say, finding that the man had been replaced by the blue sky above. Where had Zabuza-san gone? Why was he looking at the sky now?

"Poor fool," Zabuza sighed, kneeling beside the boy's body. "Such a hopeless romantic, like the Uchiha boy. Too bad I can't have him join you like this," he stated, coolly. "His brother still wants to see him... then you can be with him." He made a move to thrust the knife into Haku's chest when someone yelled.

He quickly stood, but it was too late because as he turned to see who it was, Zabuza was knocked over by a blur. It wasn't until the two landed that the man was able to see what attacked him.

A very angry Uchiha Sasuke.

"What did you do to him?!" the flustered teen yelled, before being answered with something very sharp in his side. He fell over to the side, Zabuza getting up slowly as if nothing had happened.

"I'm keeping my half of the bargain," he replied, a smirk soon appearing on his face, as Sasuke sat up. "Maybe next time you won't be so keen to _speak_ about hidden ordeals."

"You'll be caught," Sasuke hissed, ripping the knife out of his side. The blood gushed out, but he attempted to ignore it. Attempted, being the key word. He tossed the thing as far as he could, away from Zabuza, as he tried to stand.

"You'll both die before you could tell which way I went," Zabuza chuckled, folding his arms. He looked back at where Haku was supposed to be lying down, but found the boy gone. "Eh...?"

"Here," came Haku's voice, from the other side. Before Zabuza could know what hit him, he was kicked towards the fence on behalf of Haku. His head hitting the wood, Zabuza fell down cold. Haku looked back at Sasuke, the other boy reluctant to stand.

"Come on, he'll come to quickly," Haku ushered Sasuke up, his own wounds still inhibiting too much movement as the two rushed as quickly as they could away.

They turned over as many corners as they could, being sure not to be going around in a circle, before finding a large building with hulking bushes and plants. Haku pulled Sasuke into the foliage with him, the Uchiha breathing even harsher than he.

"Sasuke... are you alright?" Haku asked, in the shadowed confines of the leafy branches and twigs. Sasuke merely nodded, not being up for words until he got more of his breath back. Looking down, Haku saw the navy blue fabric around Sasuke's wrist. "That's... mine," he pointed out, looking up in surprise.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied, managing a smirk. He felt like dying right there. He probably would, too, he thought darkly. "I found it on the sidewalk trying to find you..." he said, taking his hand off of his gash to untie it and handed it to Haku. "Here."

Haku took it, tying it back into his hair to show his thanks. It all felt weak and helpless... this whole aura that was surrounding them both. Every movement was either numb or ached. He didn't want to die like this.

"Sasuke... I'm sorry I bothered you," Haku apologized, finding tears in his eyes for probably the third time that day. "You probably hate me and now you're.... we're about to..."

"Yeah, I know," Sasuke cut him off, curtly. He sighed, his energy all but disappearing as he found himself leaning on Haku's shoulder for support. "But I don't... hate you. And I had to look for you. If I didn't, you and I wouldn't be here."

"Which is worse than what could've happened," Haku replied, darkly. His shirt was nearly dried stuck to him with blood, and when Sasuke leaned on him, he felt the fabric pull on his skin lightly. "You're... reckless..."

"Oh well." Sasuke felt his breathing match that of Haku's. "Just don't die...," he said quietly, his voice carried on what little air he could find in his body.

"That's what I should be saying to _you_," Haku said, his voice tightening with emotion. "You... hopeless romantic... you."

"Heh, thanks."

-

After notes: Myah, I know. I'm bad to leave you hanging there... -sigh- And Sasuke is so terrible in this chapter. Grrrr, I hate my rendition of him. -stab- Just so you know, it took me FOREVER to write this chapter. Nearly five days... what's my problem?! -lament- Don't attack me for making Zabuza do those things. Don't worry... this isn't the last chapter either. -.-0 Though this story _should_ end before the 20th chapter (maybe even before the 15th if I'm that good).... So yes. Make all the assumptions you want. Just be sure to remember who the main character is, and what the title is. -hint hint- I won't answer reviews today because I'm a lazy bum. n.n;;;

So... well, **_review_** or else you won't get to see what happens next. Mwarharhar.


	11. Strangers

Info: Erg. This chapter is... I don't know... weird. -.-0 I was all into the groove when I was writing the first parts of it a few days ago, but then something weird happened in my head and it's all gone KAPUT from there. –sigh- Anyways, the chapter is named after _Strangers_, that Wolf's Rain Soundtrack song (I love that Soundtrack... –purr-). Why? I kept imagining that song as the way this fic will somehow end. –grin- You should hear it sometime, very beautiful song. Well... I think so, anyway. –wary glance to the side-

And thank you VERY much reviewers!! –glomps Kit- You read my fic! XD SunaSunaSabaku!! –cough- Anyways, onto answering the reviews. I'm doing it now so I won't have to deal with it when I'm writing the end... xD But now that makes me sound inconsiderate, and I'm not!!! I love your reviews, you've all been so kind!! –huggle-

Miszy-Anne: Oy! I didn't even realize it, but I think I've made your request come true! XD Itachi-san and Gaara-kun are here now, and Itachi is sporting an odd personality. Sorreh for making Zabuza-san evil... –snivel- Wait until the end, you'll see he's not so bad.

Yaoilover S: I've been watching you on DA. xDD You haven't uploaded anything in a while... you're working on you doujinshi, ne? Cools. –pats- I'm kichigai-shingetsu on there. n.n

Sorrowful Memory: XD A cult following for All-Girl's Sasuke!!! –joins- I'd like free excuses to see Haku in a skirt. –knavish wink- :3 Shankyu for the review, darling!

Sabaku-no-Ai: You're such a doll! –glomp- Favoritest fanfic? Aww... –pets- Thank you for telling me your thoughts on whether or not I should try ending it right. n.n;;;; Myeh, once it DOES end, I hope you'll be pleased with the way it goes about. –blush- It probably won't end too soon though... myeh, not with the way my laziness is going about. RAWR! xDDD I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Mizura Enoki: WAI! Here it is! Don't die! XDD Thank you for the review, m'dear!!

Mappel: DEAREST! You have returned! xDDDDD Your review was cut off? I didn't even know that... until, that is, you sent more of it. –grin- Such long reviews as always, luff. –happiness- Squee! VinVal is the hotness... –purr- I heart him SHO much! GRAWR! He's sexy. XDDD AnyWAYS, I'm sho happy someone liked my Gaara! X3 That's the way he is in my mind, after all. And Haku is immune because, well... Zabuza is sort of the same way? NO EYEBROWS AND ALL! –laughs insanely- Ahem.

Zabuza-san was a bit abusive before... Er, refer to Curtains and Windows, where I half-imply that Zabuza-san gives Haku a bruise (somehow XD). I don't state it directly though, seeing as how it's in Sasuke's POV there, but.... sort of... myeh, I'm so UNCLEAR!! –boom- And the main character and title quip was for the people that might actually think I'd kill off Sasuke and Haku! –gawkgasppoint- Sasuke?! HAKU?! Who could kill THEM off?! Wait... Kishimoto-sama has already done that to Haku.... o.o;;; Okay, never mind. XD I'm so happy you like the way the fic is going about... I hope I don't disappoint with soon-to-come chapters. –snivel- n.n;;;;;

**Warnings**: Um... Gaara and Itachi return, weird fluff sort of things (face touching, about it), and some uber-weird OOCness. But you should all be used to that by now! –heartily laughs like a cheesy knave-

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. ...nuff said. Knife of Romance is a sexy song. O.o; I don't own that either, but I'm listening to it. It's from the Angel Sanctuary anime (which I love). Buy it.... –Gaara Approved Hypnosis Glare- Buy Angel Sanctuary...... Listen to Knife of Romance...... Woooo.....

**Chapter 11 **— Strangers

-

_He couldn't see. It was so dark... an inky blackness crept all over him. Several times the gashes across his chest sparked with pain, but each time was brief. He couldn't move. It felt as though something were strapping his arms and legs down. Was this a dream? Or the foregoing part of a predestined nightmare? He wanted to open his eyes. But were they not already wide open, searching the blank air around him for life? Haku wished for even the smallest glimmer of light. Anything to bring him out of this cold shadow that he knew would eventually drive him insane._

_'But aren't I already insane?' he mused, contemplative now that he was surrounded by nothing but the dark with nothing to divert his attention elsewhere. 'Why else would I be trapped in this blank void? Perhaps... perhaps I've died....' Haku felt a sad smile etch itself onto his lips. 'Maybe now... my heart won't ache so much...'_

_He tried to imagine Zabuza's face, but found that he couldn't bring himself to. All he could see was the man's name, which disheartened him._

_'Why...? Why can't I see your face?' Could he only think his words? Whatever happened to his voice? He tried to speak, but nothing could be vocally sounded out. Or maybe he just couldn't hear it. Haku tried again and again, until he thought he was screaming. But there was nothing. Nothing in this empty blackness...._

_If he could see, he knew he would be dizzy. But Haku couldn't even close his eyes, because now he couldn't tell the difference between opening and closing them. The shadowy veil was over him at both times. He couldn't live this way.... Anywhere but here!_

_Haku felt himself screaming harder, wanting someone to find him and release him. Where was he? Was he even human anymore? While he still heard no sound, his throat felt hoarse. His cries faded away, as the slashes on his chest began stinging, before totally silencing him. At least he could feel himself breathing, the air going in and out of him harshly after his silent screams finished. In fact... he could even hear it._

_He held his breath for a moment, despite the ache it formed in his chest, and yet continued to hear the sound. It wasn't his breathing he was hearing... it was someone else's. Releasing his breath, he found that the sound was getting louder. Was the person coming closer? Or was Haku, himself, unintentionally going over?_

_As it got louder, Haku soon realized that that sound wasn't necessarily just breathing. There was an erratic pattern to it... crying? Whoever was here with him was crying, he mused, suddenly feeling like he should be doing the same. But why? What was there to be sad over...?_

_And then a new sound.__ A voice, this time, heard over the breathing. His eyes were wide as he tried to look around himself, hearing his name being called._

_"—Haku—st—Let—stay with—I said!—Stop!!" The voice was protesting something. Who was that...? Why couldn't he remember? The words faded fairly quickly, however, which made Haku fear for whoever was crying out to him._

_'No... don't leave me here!' he tried to call back, trying to reach in front of himself. It was either he still couldn't move, or he'd lost all feeling in his body. He tried to feel blindly in the darkness, but there was nothing but air around him. 'Come back!'_

--

"Sasuke!"

Haku's eyes shot open, their first sight being his right hand raised high above his head, reaching for the glaringly white-tiled ceiling. He then felt a sting of pain centered on his chest, his arm flopping back down languidly beside him. His eyes felt heavy. Had he been asleep this whole time? Sitting up, ignoring the annoying feeling the cuts were giving, Haku realized that this wasn't his dorm. It wasn't his real room, either. No wonder the ceiling had looked odd when he first saw it.

On his right was the equally white wall, small splotches of off-white marring its overall appearance, plus a brown door over in the corner.

"What...?"

Over on the other side, he saw an odd, pastel green curtain. Haku felt his eyes narrow at the sight—oh, it felt good to actually be able to see—and began to wonder where he was exactly. Tilting his head, Haku reached for the curtain, expecting the thing to maybe disappear and be nothing more than another illusion. It was not, and the plastic-y feel under his fingertips proved that point.

Looking down at himself, the tacky curtain currently forgotten, Haku realized he was shirtless. A tinge of color rushed to his face, wondering who it was who dressed his wounds. White bandages spiraled around his upper body in an X shape, bits beginning to dot variously on the cloth. He shifted his legs, awkwardly, but found them to be covered much unlike his torso. Inwardly sighing a breath of relief, Haku lay back down.

But then another realization hit him. Whose name had he called when he woke up? Swooping back up, Haku stared ahead at the blank wall expecting answers. This was, quite obviously, a hospital. How had he gotten here, though? And what of Sasuke? Surely he was here with him. Turning back to the curtain with a curious look, but still holding the bed blankets up to his collarbone just in case, Haku felt the pale green décor once more. Then in one swift move, he ripped them aside.

The other bed in the room was, indeed, occupied, but not by Uchiha Sasuke like Haku had presume. Instead, a middle-aged man stared back at Haku incredulously. The equipment around him and white strips over the upper part of his chest indicated that the man was recovering from heart surgery. Haku blinked in surprise and was just about to close the curtain again, when the man suddenly widely grinned.

"Hey baby," the man called, trying to make his voice low with seduction, though it sounded more ridiculous than anything. "What're _you_ in for?"

Haku scowled, one eye twitching, and pulled the curtains back in their place.

"Hey! Don't you want to talk?!" the man's voice came from the other side. "I'm so loooooonely...!!" Haku cringed and hid under his covers, turning over to the right to further block out the neighboring pervert/patient. More pleading statement followed, but they soon ceased.

Sighing in exasperation, the air getting warmer and warmer under the wooly blankets, Haku finally reappeared out of the enclosure. The cooler air in the room quickly surrounded him once more, a shiver ensuing, and Haku laid back down normally.

If Sasuke wasn't here then... where was he? Haku racked his brain, trying to remember the last thing before he blacked out. Fast forward past Zabuza—a spark of remembrance fluttered in his chest—then again past Sasuke saving him, then the running... and finally the bushes. Was there nothing more after this? Haku's brows furrowed, as the boy puzzled over this.

He could've sworn that they were going to die there. The incredibly cold feeling he'd had at that time blossomed once more vividly in his mind, and he wondered what had saved them. What kept them from dying there... alone....

_I wasn't alone. Sasuke was with me._ That was right but _should_ Sasuke have been with him? Neither of them would be where they currently were if Sasuke hadn't intervened. But where was Sasuke?

_Hopefully just in another room,_ Haku thought, a feeling of guilt gnawing at his core. It was his fault, running off like that. If he had just put up with those girls' rambling, if he had just owned a stronger will...

Could he honestly wait for a nurse to walk in to find out where the Uchiha was? Of course he could always call one of them using one of those handy call-buttons. But then they might not tell him anyway, due to privacy matters or some nonsense like that. Hospitals were too complicated. But at least he wasn't in a mental ward.

Finally making a decision, despite its rash nature, Haku swung his feet out of the bed, finding a pair of white, soft pants covering his thin legs. He quietly escaped through the door, hoping the pervert on the other side of the room wouldn't hear, and shut the door behind himself with the knob turned so it wouldn't click. Haku then stepped lightly down the cold hallway. His feet were bare and they soon began to feel less than clean from walking on the unswept, yet smooth, flooring.

Now there was another problem at hand. How in the heck was he going to know where Sasuke's room was? Dwelling on this for a second, an inner feeling of defeat urging him to give up and return to the room, Haku looked ahead towards the end of the hall for clues. There weren't any signs that said, "Uchiha Sasuke here," but there was one that stated, "Information."

_Yet it isn't a lobby?_ Haku wondered, slowly approaching the desk. He didn't want to be caught out of bed but the nurse at the desk looked too preoccupied with playing Solitaire on the computer to pay any real attention to anything else.

"Excuse me...?" he began, hiding partially behind the wall that turned in towards the desk. The nurse nodded, not taking her eyes off of the screen. He cleared his throat, finding his voice hard to find. Maybe he was actually screaming when he was asleep...

"Er, can you tell me where a certain room is?" Haku slowly asked, praying she wouldn't question why. The woman nodded again.

"What room do you want, kid?" she asked, her hand on the mouse, still clicking and dragging virtual cards. "Tell me the first and last name."

"Uchiha Sasuke." After he replied, her eyebrows rose for a second, as she glanced down at a sheet of paper with penciled down names.

"Eh.... room 349," the nurse stated before continuing with a flat, emotionless tone, "Don't disturb the room if there are nurses and doctors working in there, and have a nice day." Another click of her mouse and her attention was instantly diverted once more.

Haku nodded, despite her not noticing, and continued on down the hall, checking each room number that he passed.

"336... 338... 340..." After a short while in a surprisingly deserted hallway, Haku finally found his was to Sasuke's room. The door was closed of course, and he found a sudden, odd feeling of butterflies as if he were about to discover some huge secret. When his hand turned to the handle, Haku cautiously peeked in, not wanting any non-patient to discover his being out of his own room.

Looking around the door, readying himself to duck back out if worse comes to worse, Haku found himself sighing in relief at the sight of Sasuke on the bed. Maybe he was glad to see that Sasuke was alone. Or perhaps he had to see the Uchiha himself before he could believe the boy survived?

Entering the room after seeing that no one else was there and shutting the door, Haku approached the bed quietly, noting how the lights weren't on. Looking towards the window, he could see that the faint amount of light that did enter the room was coming from the orange, afternoon sun. How much time had passed since Friday, then? What was the current date?

He sat himself down in a visitor's chair, sitting in it sideways without thought, peering down at Sasuke's sleeping form in front of him. Did the boy's skin seem paler than before? Haku's eyes narrowed. He reached for Sasuke's face, his fingers trailing over the Uchiha's jawline. So smooth... just like that night. Haku could feel heat return to his face, but dismissed it, as his thumb brushed against Sasuke's slightly parted lips.

His hand retreated quickly as the sleeping male seemed to stir, a deep breath taken during the moment, before Haku found it safe to move again when Sasuke's eyes didn't open. Scooting the chair as close as it could get to the bed, noiselessly, Haku leaned in closer to the male. His head had turned when he moved, and now it was facing partially away from Haku.

Perhaps it was the tinted light coming in from the window, but was that a trail of red going across Sasuke's face?

Haku sighed, folding his arms over the side of the bed, leaning down low to be on level with them, still watching the teen before him with unwavering eyes. A soft smile found its way onto his lips, as he found himself remembering something Sasuke had said before he'd blacked out.

"Sasuke...." Haku began, finding his thoughts being spoken aloud, "did you mean it when you said you didn't hate me?"

It'd been said so many times to him before, foster mothers usually being the greatest fans of it. They told him they loved him like their own child, yet, now he lived alone? Whatever happened to the never-ending love a mother supposedly had for her child? Haku used to feel bad for himself over their lies, but now he didn't bat a lash at remembering. There were worse things to cry over.

"I'm sorry. I... again, feared for your life," Haku admitted, while still holding his smiling expression. "But this time_ I_ was to blame. So maybe I wasn't being too sentimental when I was afraid you would die _this_ time? I don't like to senselessly worry over people, but.... You understand, right? Maybe not.

"They must know by now. The school. They were more than likely the first people contacted... and with our uniforms it wouldn't be too hard to figure out, anyway," Haku said, his quiet voice made only more muffled by his crossed arms, which he were practically speaking into. Now his eyes were watching Sasuke's chest move up and down in front of him, unconsciously following the pattern with his own breaths. "Which means you might not see me at school. Or... maybe not even by the time you wake up....

"That's probably all for the better anyway. Zabuza-san's probably gone off somewhere else; I still need to follow him. Don't bear a grudge against him. He's not... so bad...." His voice was beginning to waver with these words, almost as if he were trying to convince himself of the same thing. "He isn't. But... he shouldn't have hurt you. I'm glad you didn't die, though.... If you had I..."

He buried his face in his arms, breathing erratically then in stifled tears. "I don't want to cry, but I don't know what else to do. Zabuza-san always hated my crying... and I thought I was done with it, too, until Friday." Each word was tagged with more emotion than the last, as Haku's hand clenched the bed sheets through their awkward stance. "_Damn you... Sasuke_...."

-

As Haku was bent over in sorrow, he nary noticed as Sasuke's right hand, the one closest to his roommate, slowly arose from its position. Before it could get even two inches above the mattress however, the door to the room swung open, Sasuke's hand once more feigning sleep at the noise. Haku turned around quickly, drying his eyes with his wrists when he saw it was Kakashi. The expression his teacher wore was not one of amusement.

"Yukio-kun," Kakashi began, his arms folded in front of his chest, "I'm sure you realize that we've been informed of your little secret, right?" Haku nodded, wordlessly. "Then can you please speak to us? _Outside_ Uchiha's room?" This last comment was aimed more towards the boy faking sleep on the bed, though Haku barely noticed it as he stepped out with Kakashi.

Once the door shut behind them, Sasuke's eyes blinked open. Without looking, he felt at where Haku had been crying. The sheets were dotted with tears here and there.

"Haku..." He wanted to sit up, but Sasuke knew that the wound to his side would probably hinder this wish. Sighing, he turned to the right, facing the door. Why hadn't he showed Haku he was awake earlier? Perhaps because he wanted to hear all Haku had to say.

In truth, Sasuke had been awake since long before Haku had walked in. He was just feigning sleep so that the nurses wouldn't bother him, like the last time he'd been awake when they walked in. It turned out, though, that when the door had opened that Haku was on the other side instead.

Another faint blush escaped to Sasuke's cheeks once more, remembering Haku's thumb to his lips. _What was all that touching for?!_ he mused in an annoyed fashion. Still... Sasuke's own hand reached up, touching the same spot that Haku's had. That touch had been enough to make Sasuke have to move away somehow.

Right before the door had opened again for Kakashi, he had been reaching for Haku to stop crying. Perhaps the awkward situation that might've followed made his hand fall to the bed once more? More than likely. Sasuke inwardly cursed his cowardice. Haku had now cried in front of him three times, and yet Sasuke couldn't admit he wanted to console his dorm mate?

"I'm so weak..." Sasuke muttered, in spite of himself.

"I'll say," came a voice from the other side of the room. Sasuke's eyes widened, though he dared not turn to confirm his suspicions. "What?" said the voice again, mocking innocent confusion. "Don't tell me my darling little brother has gone back to pretending I don't exist...!"

"Itachi..." warned another voice. Gaara's voice.

Sasuke shut his eyes, wishing for another delusion than this. Can't his nightmare consist of something other than _him_?

"Sasuke..." Itachi's voice stated, this time the light expression gone. "You seem to think you can run from me, over and over." Sasuke could feel his bed dip on one side, but merely moved towards his own edge further, painfully aware of this nightmare being reality. "We're all we have left, little brother. Why do you continue to fear me?"

"I hate you," was Sasuke's only reply, unconsciously curling into himself. "Get away from me."

"Hm." Itachi's hand was surprisingly warm against his brother's bare shoulder, the elder Uchiha turning Sasuke over slowly. Sasuke found himself staring into his brother's crimson eyes without wanting to. "I suppose this _is_ all my own fault..."

"You think?" came Gaara's voice once more, the redhead leaning against the wall on the other side. His arms were crossed, bitterly. "You told him to hate you, what do you expect? ...fool..."

Itachi didn't even glare at Gaara's comment, knowing it would do nothing. To each his own, after all. Instead, his eyes lingered on Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke, you mirror our mother, you know," Itachi pointed out, before smiling. Sasuke wanted to push him away, get him to stop speaking, but Itachi was holding down both of his arms, leaning across his chest. He was so close...

"I didn't kill you for a reason, Sasuke," Itachi murmured, gripping Sasuke's arms harder as he glared at some unrecognizable thing behind Sasuke. "I... didn't want to kill anyone, then."

"Then why?!" Sasuke cried, Itachi shaking him slightly in an attempt to quiet his little brother. "....why did you do it...?!"

"It was either them or you," Itachi snapped. "I had my choice, and I made it. Just like Gaara." He arched a brow, knowingly. "That goes for Zabuza, as well."

Sasuke stared up at him. They _were_ on the same team. _Dammit_ "Tell that bastard to go kill _himself_, then!"

Itachi shrugged, releasing his brother's arms before standing. Despite the stabbing pain in his side, Sasuke sat up, one hand to the bandaged site of pain. "He nearly did, the poor fool," he replied, coolly. "That man acts tough but he's really softer than Gaara over there."

At the mention of his name, Gaara turned his head away. "Don't compare me to him. You don't have the right say anything like that, anyway." A slow, deriding sneer appeared on his face. "I'm not the one who—"

"Don't say anymore," warned Itachi, a bloody glare sent from him to Gaara. The younger boy blinked, but didn't say any more. It didn't matter much to him anyway. Itachi turned back to Sasuke. "We'll be leaving now, little brother."

"Fine, go," Sasuke urged, waving him off. "I don't care. Just leave me alone."

"I said 'We,' not meaning 'Gaara and I,' but 'You, Gaara, and I.' Now come."

Sasuke looked at his brother in confusion. "What? Why?! You told me I wasn't important! I'm not worth your time! I hate you!! What more do you want?!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "You."

Despite the suppressed ferocity in Itachi's nature, Sasuke couldn't fight the heat that was creeping to his face. What the hell was his older brother getting at? Or was Itachi even more demented than he'd thought all these years?

"... you stay the hell away from me..." Sasuke growled, inching away once more.

"Don't do this." Itachi reached for him, but Sasuke batted his hand away, leaping out of the bed backwards. He stopped just before hitting the wall, but doubled over when his injury flared, falling to his knees.

"Sasuke...!" Itachi hurried around the bed to the younger Uchiha, kneeling down to Sasuke's level. Sasuke glared up at him, despite the pain in his eyes in doing so. He brushed back Sasuke's bangs, furrowing his brows. "....you're apparently not supposed to move, Sasuke. Here—"

"Don't touch me," Sasuke cut him off, knocking away Itachi's hands. "Get out of here. Now."

Itachi scowled, though the reason behind it seemed different from what Sasuke had expected. "I will not leave here without you."

"I'd like to see you t—" Sasuke's words were cut off as he coughed, harshly. Looking down at his hands, both Uchihas saw them splattered with blood. Sasuke felt faint at the sight of it, though perhaps there was more to his dizziness than just seeing the blood.

"Sasuke!" Itachi tried to pull his brother up by his arms, but Sasuke refused.

"No... let me go...!" Sasuke stated, red trailing in small lines out of his throat. "I don't...," his voice faded as he fell limp, though not unconscious.

"Gaara, come here," ordered Itachi. When the red-haired teen didn't move, the elder Uchiha glared up at him. "Gaara."

Gaara stared back, unmoving. "They're coming back." Itachi hesitated, but then stood at these words while leaning Sasuke against the bed side, soon joining Gaara beside the window. Sasuke looked up, feeling the distinct warmth trickling down his neck.

"Once these fools leave you alone again, I'll return for you," Itachi coldly stated, sliding open the window. He turned to Gaara. "Close the window after you leave, Gaara." Then the Uchiha slipped through the window, despite them being many stories up. Sasuke's eyes were wide; how did they keep doing that?

Gaara looked ready to leave, but hesitated and looked back at Sasuke. Sasuke returned the gaze, realizing that Gaara was eyeing the blood dripping slowly out of him.

"I'll kill him," Gaara said, flatly, before taking his own swift leave. The window seemed to shut behind him by itself, and Sasuke found himself leaning on the side of the bed for support.

_Kill him?_ Sasuke thought, finding it hard to breathe without having the urge to cough. The blood was probably edging into his lungs now. He groaned, trying to stand and get back into the bed. _Kill who? That bastard Itachi? No..._ He furrowed his brows, realizing it. _No, Zabuza. Hn... I certainly wouldn't mind _that_, that's for sure. Though, Yukio would be sad, that moron._

Behind him, the door's handle clicked, signaling someone opening it. Sasuke slowly turned his head, just in time to see Haku rush to his side in panic.

"Sasuke! What are you do—?!" He cut off, noticing the blood trickling out of Sasuke's mouth. "What...? What happened?!"

"Nothing," Sasuke denied, attempting to crawl back into his bed once more. "Help me stand."

"No! Stay there, don't move," Haku refused. Sasuke glared at him.

"On the floor?"

"Yes!"

"It's cold, idiot!"

Haku furrowed his brows. "Here then, you child," Haku muttered, pulling the sheets off of Sasuke's hospital bed, before hanging them on the Uchiha's head. "Warm enough for you?"

"Pft..." Sasuke pulled the white blankets off, the sheets marred with spots of scarlet from his face. He continued to glare at Haku, but bit back his remark, eyeing the wetness in Haku's eyes. ".....hn.... Ha—"

At that moment, Kakashi reentered the room, Tsunade-san, the principal of St. Ruto's following close behind.

"Playing on the floor, boys?" she commented, one eye brow raised in question. Sasuke and Haku looked up, the latter looking like he would've stood if Sasuke didn't need help.

Kakashi, however, noticed the boy's injury. "Sasuke-kun, did you fall out of bed?" He barely glanced down at Haku, before returning his gaze to the Uchiha while adding, "Again?" Sasuke stared at Kakashi warningly.

_'Again?'_ Haku mentally repeated, before looking angry. "How can you just stand there? Call the nurse, Sasuke's bleeding...!"

"It's nothing," Sasuke rebuked, avoiding Haku's eyes as the long-haired boy turned back to him. "What about you? You're not supposed to be moving your arms for at least a week! Look, it's already beginning to bleed through, fool." He gestured to the bandaged wrapped around Haku's chest, a more pronounced X beginning to appear through it in red.

"S-so..." Haku felt like he should've been covering the mark, but ignored the urge. "It doesn't hurt. Besides, _you_ look like you're about to _die_ just sitting there!"

Tsunade and Kakashi merely glanced at each other in a bored fashion, the silver-haired teacher shrugging, before deciding to let the two teens take out their anger. Alone. The two quietly left the room, closing the door behind them so as to not attract more attention to the boys on the floor.

"I do not," Sasuke replied. "And what do you mean that doesn't hurt? Every time I snuck out to see you, you'd be crying in your bloody sleep!!"

Haku nearly answered this, but stopped himself. ".... what?"

Sasuke crossed his arms, despite how a tendril of pain seethed into his side in doing so. "You heard me. You were nearly sobbing! And what's with mumbling that bastard's and mine's names?!"

"Not that," Haku brushed aside his earlier comment. "You snuck into my room? ...too?" Sasuke nearly looked as though he regretted saying anything about the subject, but his usual facade reappeared.

"Yeah... only because the nurses are complete morons who know nothing," Sasuke curtly answered, staring at the cold floor beneath them. "And since you seemed to be the lucky one to not have so many nurses prancing in and out, seeing as how you were still asleep, I sometimes... went in there...." He looked back up at Haku, noting the surprised look on the other boy's face. "Not like that, narcissist! Stop thinking everyone lives to hit on you and only you!!"

Haku couldn't help but smile. "You... hopeless romantic." Sasuke looked back down, remembering that phrase from before. Haku's smile slowly faded, as the silence bore down on them both.

"You were saying his name... and mine, too, but...," Sasuke paused, tracing circles on the smooth floor below them, the other hand wrapped in the now red-spotted white sheet Haku had pulled from the bed. "Where were you?" He glanced up at Haku. "You were screaming bloody murder."

Haku gave him a wary look. "... you could hear me?" He'd thought he was trapped in a shadowy silence.

"Psh," Sasuke made a sound of disbelief. "The question is, 'Who _couldn't_ hear you.'" He paused. "Was it that frightening, wherever your mind was?" Haku nodded.

"Maybe not to someone like you but... it was for me," Haku answered. Sasuke left it at that, noting the uneasiness that flickered across Haku's expression just remembering. But then Haku suddenly smiled.

"I saw someone that day," he said, in response to Sasuke's look of confusion at the grin. "Uzumaki-kun. He's nice, but a little... off, no offense." Sasuke arched a brow.

"How did you see him?"

"We met on a pair of swings," Haku answered. "Apparently, he was skipping school too,"—Sasuke murmured something along the lines of "_Dobe_."—"and so we talked."

"...about what?"

"You, Sakura-chan..." A grin. "He's cute." Sasuke glared at Haku, warningly.

"Don't get ideas," Sasuke muttered back, keeping his steely gaze on the cross-dressing male.

"Jealous, are we?"

"No."

Haku pouted to Sasuke's curt reply, but said no more. Thus, the perturbed silence returned with a seeming vengeance.

"I... They said I should probably leave the school..." Haku finally revealed. Sasuke dared not look up now. Emotions like this were never his favorite. However, despite his refusal to look at Haku's face, he could still see how Haku's hands gripped at the blankets strewn around them both. "I suppose that means we won't be in _Ribbon Heart_ together, huh? Oh well..." A feeble laugh, as Haku attempted to appease the dark mood that suddenly appeared.

"That's probably for the best, huh?" Haku continued, smiling up at Sasuke just as he'd thought it was safe to glance. It was the saddest smile the Uchiha had ever witnessed. Forget all the girls he'd ever refused... This was the epiphany of all that. "Now you might actually have a female playing the opposite...!"

"Haku..." He bit his lip. "You're going to follow him, aren't you?" This time Haku averted his eyes, though his nodding proved Sasuke's assumption. "Why? Why him? He's—"

"If I don't, they'll eventually catch him and I'll have done all this for nothing," Haku replied, cutting his ex-roommate off before the boy could finish his sentence. Sasuke frowned to this claim, however.

"He deserves to be caught!" the spiky-haired boy argued. "The guy tried to kill you! Though that was partially _my_ fault, he was the one with the knife!"

"Your fault?" questioned Haku. "You weren't—"

"It's because I almost told Iruka-sensei." Haku's eyes widened. Sasuke shook his head. "Not about you... about Zabuza. Haku, he's in league with Gaara. With..." Sasuke hesitated, before continuing, "my brother, Itachi." Haku blinked, a look of realization seeming to dawn on him.

"O-oh."

"He threatened me with _your_ life, since he knew my brother wouldn't let _me_ be killed. And... I guess I almost didn't win the gamble." The Uchiha's last statement was no more than a whisper, though Haku heard it more clearly than anything else Sasuke'd said.

"I didn't think he would hear me," Sasuke quickly added. "But he did and that's when I heard you'd ran away, too." He glared up at Haku, though a question was the one thing most evident in his dark eyes. "Why?"

Haku shrugged, simply. "I don't know," he answered. Sasuke gave him a look of knowing better than that. "Fine. I _do_ know. It was something childish, though... those girls were just hassling me again, that's all."

"Hmph." Sasuke quirked a brow once more. "And you call _me_ a child?" He raised a hand to Haku's face, before placing his first two fingers on the boy's lips, perhaps to silence whatever quip came next. "I'm not the one fondling people while they sleep." Haku looked surprised for a second, speaking under Sasuke's fingers.

"You were awake?" He finally pulled Sasuke's hand down by the wrist, a faint red coloring his cheeks. "Why didn't you say anything?! Were you just listening blissfully to my confession?!"

"Yes, and you seemed to want me to hear it anyway," Sasuke replied. "What's the big deal?" He blinked, watching his dorm mate's abashed expression. "Are you... embarrassed?"

"No, I'm not," Haku stated, sarcasm edging his words. "I'm _so_ ecstatic you heard my heartfelt sobs of pain and sorrow. We should do it again _real_ soon. I can't wait." He looked off to the side, proving his offense. Sasuke wanted to get back to the real subject at hand, however, ignoring Haku's remarks.

"He doesn't feel the same for you, you realize that, right?" Sasuke tried to lock stares with Haku, though the latter seemed to pretend he didn't notice the Uchiha's trademark glare and merely shrugged. "He doesn't care...!"

"Yes he does!" Sasuke found himself pulled forward harshly, Haku still having a grip on the boy's wrist. He'd pulled the spiky-haired teen towards him in speaking. "He...," Haku released Sasuke's arm, marks left where his fingers had dug into the skin, "does..."

Sasuke rubbed at the spot indifferently. "Are you so blind? I'd understand if maybe he showed some ray of kindness, but all I've ever seen him do to you is hurt you!"

"Same with you!" Haku cried. The other boy stared at the accusation before him. "Since when have you ever tried being genuinely kind to someone? Anyone?!"

"Lots of times!" Sasuke replied, harshly. "I'm not some heartless jerk. Unlike your precious _Zabuza-sama_, I actually acknowledge that others exist, for one thing!!"

"You.... you don't know anything," the cross-dresser seethed, turning away from the Uchiha. Sasuke performed a similar action.

"You're one to talk."

"Arrogant, self-absorbed, immature jerk."

"Creepy, narcissistic, overly-feminine masochist!"

"What makes me a masochist?" Haku asked, returning his glare to Sasuke, the other male quickly returning the heated stare.

"The fact that you seem to just _love_ men pouncing all over you as if you have no feelings!!" Sasuke quickly answered. "And what in all _hell_ makes _me_ immature? I'm the most mature person in the whole bloody school! City too, probably."

Haku looked taken back, but just as quickly retorted with, "You're immature due to the fact you seem to never get enough _sex_ wherever you go! Ten _million_ times a day with Uzumaki-kun, and yet you _still_ try to _rape me_?!"

"I didn't rape you! You consented... sort of... after a while....!! And besides, I didn't go any further than your waist, I already told you that!"

"I was trying to knock your lights out until you finally overpowered me, you man-devil. And touching is touching! Who are you to disregard my privacy?!"

"I'm sorry, okay!"

"...." Haku kept his heated stare fixated on Sasuke, the Uchiha doing the same. After a few intense moments of silent glaring, a smile cracked Haku's angry façade. Sasuke blinked in bewilderment, soon finding himself watching Haku trying to stifle his laughter.

"...what?"

"I'm going to miss you, Uchiha-kun," Haku finally said, looking back up at Sasuke, any resentment erased from his eyes. "You really are... kind." He stood in one move, flicking his hair back from his face. "When you want to be, anyway." A smile flitted across Haku's face, as he opened the door. Kakashi and Tsunade stood there, about to walk in, when Haku left between them. Both adults watched him walk back to his room, Tsunade looking ready to say something but biting her tongue.

"Hn," Kakashi merely murmured, looking back down at Sasuke. "If you want to apologize, you could've just mentioned how you kept knocking out doctors just to stay in his room." Sasuke glowered at the man, as Kakashi grinned.

"I-I was dazed and confused," protested the teen, hoping distinctly that the heat rising to his face didn't mean he was blushing. "Besides, this—" He pointed to the blood drops on the white sheet— "is from that one man-nurse."

"It was the only way to get _you_ unconscious, Uchiha," Tsunade reminded him, raising a brow. Sasuke snorted.

"So... you're kicking him out?" he finally brought up, his gaze suddenly turning icy with his own words. Both looked surprised at this statement.

"No," Kakashi replied.

"He can stay, as long as he keeps posing as a female," Tsunade continued. "If anything, we're hoping his stays; the police may finally be able to get those two—"

"Three," corrected Sasuke.

"—if Yukio stays. Especially if the one called... what? Zabon? Well, if 'Mochi-san' returns," Tsunade said, Kakashi nodding in accord.

"But, then why is he leaving?" inquired Sasuke.

"Oh, he's decided to leave?" Both Tsunade and Kakashi glanced at one another curiously.

Sasuke nodded, slowly, staring beyond the two into the hallway behind them. _Haku... damn it, you're even harder to figure out than Naruto._

--

After notes: Argghh, I ended horribly there. Bleh. Ugh, what a horrid ending... ugh.... I just got so fed up with this stupid chapter I had to just end it there. -.-0 Doesn't matter, the next one should be coming up soon. Ugh, such a horrible chapter... Itachi seems so WEIRD, but you'll know why he's like this when I finally reveal his actual personality. Mwa. Gaara is hot/cold, isn't he? I love him. XD He's hard to portray too, but that's because I've given him a hidden, inner personality that will also soon be revealed. Same goes with Zabuza. u.u; Myeh. Weird. I hope you can all bear with the horrid things I'm doing to them now, until the end.

I'm thinking of writing a prequel/side story to this one after it ends... something about Sasuke's life before AGS, you know? Because while I want to include it in here, it'll be a little too long and all. And I just love Sasuke, you know. XDDD It'll include his relationship with Gaara, how he was running from Itachi before, how he ended up with Naruto... fun, fun, fun for everyone. X3

**_Review!_** And tell me if you'd like to see a prequel/side story when I'm finished with this fic. n.n Thank you.


	12. I Want My Heart Broken Each Time I Fall ...

Info: Another weird chapter! And it took me a long while to write, too... terribly sorry. u.u;; Very sorry. I'm glad for all of your reviews, though due to the shortage of time I have on the internet at the moment, I will not be able to answer them! SORRY! –grovel- Forgive me! And this chapter... which is mostly **Uchiha****-based**. Lots of Itachi and Sasuke memories (only two, really), and I know Itachi is extra weird. Can you blame me though? This is the way I wish he was! –snivel- And Gaara is extra homicidal, and maybe a bit more himself... maybe. n.n;;; Enjoy!

**Warnings**: This chapter seems... jumpy, and it's probably because I wrote a lot of it over a long length of time... so I suppose the only real warning here is that this chapter **_SUCKS_**.

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto, and I don't think I _know_ anyone who does own it, though I'm sure everyone surely wishes they did. Alas, Kishimoto-sama is the only true owner of Naruto and all his pals. Darn it...!

**Edit- Apparently, a lot of you thought that this fic is over. WRONG! xD It's far from over (okay, not far...), and I still have to write more about what happens once Haku steps outside the dorm building's door! Sheesh... some people are just overdramatic... xDDD Read without fear, fellow Haku X Sasuke lovers. If there are any... which I think there are... –shifty eyes-**

**Chapter 12 **— I Want My Heart Broken Each Time I Fall In Love

-

About a week after their hospitalization, the two boys were able to return to St. Ruto's. Sakura had immediately run up to Sasuke, who ignored her and walked straight into the room, then settled on asking Haku what had happened, only gaining a small smile and a silent look in return as he also merely walked past her into the dorm. Obviously, neither cared for the girls to know, and silently thanked the teachers for not saying anything as well.

Sakura stood, slightly dismayed, outside the door for a few minutes after both bouts of cold shoulder, then proceeded to huffing back to her room intent on pummeling the answer out of Haku later. Inside the quiet dorm room, the natural homey warmth a welcoming thing after staring at white surroundings for several days on end, Haku fell backwards onto the bed with a sigh.

"I'm going to miss this bed..." he mumbled, Sasuke looking over at the boy at these words. They hadn't spoken to each other much since the day Haku decided to leave (At least not normally. It always ended in a fight.), and anytime Haku actually did say something, Sasuke couldn't help but listen.

"Then..." Haku knew what Sasuke was going to say. He'd said it in response to nearly everything Haku murmured. "Why don't you stay?"

Haku closed his eyes, partially in exasperation and partially to block out the rest of the room. "You know why. Stop acting so selfish."

"I'm not acting selfish!" This was the way the argument always went. Haku _knew_ Sasuke wanted him to stay. But the Uchiha always thought up another reason for the long-haired male to stay, in protest. He denied Haku's beliefs that he, Uchiha Sasuke, would miss him. "You are! You come here for _what_? Three to four weeks now? And you totally screw up my life and you just want to leave like _that_!" Haku sat up now, staring heatedly at Sasuke.

"Your life was messed up before I came, Sasuke. I wasn't the one who nearly got us both killed! You were!" Sasuke looked taken back at first, but returned his trademark glare at full force, approaching where Haku sat with anger.

"I was completely fine before you pranced along in your little schoolgirl guise," Sasuke stated, Haku rising up from his bed to the challenge. They both stared eye to eye now, as Sasuke continued, "And I _never_... meant that to happen."

"Maybe not," Haku began, guardedly, "but it did. And now Zabuza-san is in a lot more trouble than before!" He resisted striking Sasuke knowing it would do nothing good, though his dark eyes still flashed. "If anything, _you're_ the one doing the screwing up!"

Despite Haku's resistance to physical conflict, Sasuke gripped Haku harshly on the shoulders, pulling him close to his face until they were mere inches from each other.

"Why do you still defend him? Why _him_!" And again, their arguments always led to Sasuke questioning Haku's loyalty to Zabuza. It seemed so pointless to him; the scars across Haku's chest were not going to fade away. And it seemed the boy's love for the man wouldn't either.

"You _know_ why!" Haku reached up for Sasuke's wrists, willing to pull them away from him. He hesitated however, looking off to the side as his tone calmed. "You're the same as me... you know it all."

Sasuke stared at Haku incredulously. "What? If I did, I wouldn't be asking you, idiot!" he replied. He soon found his left hand lifted off Haku's shoulder, the male before him examining the silver ring on his finger.

"Yes, you do," said Haku. "This is proof." He tapped the silver band, locking eyes with Sasuke. "Gaara doesn't seem very kind, either. If anything, he seems worse than Zabuza-san... so why do _you_ continue to wear _his_ ring... hm?"

"How did you kno—"

"When he pushed me in the hallway that day, I saw the same ring on his hand." Haku smiled, the gesture seeming almost like admiration. "Matching pairs. It's like a sappy romance novel, minus the beautiful women." Even Sasuke found himself performing an odd, lopsided smile to this, perhaps more out of embarrassment than amusement. Haku then eyed Sasuke with a familiar question in his eyes.

"You never answered. Why do you still wear his ring?" Sasuke tried to look away, but Haku brought his attention back with a glare.

"It's different. Gaara is not like that... that _thing_ you love."

"Oh, is it now?" snapped Haku, causing Sasuke to inwardly flinch at this rare tone. "What makes them so different? Is it because Gaara is the same age as us, hm? Because that's a horrid reason, really it is. Surely you can think of something better than that, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Not that!" Sasuke wanted to rip away from Haku, the cross-dressing boy still keeping a grip on his left hand. He didn't however, and chose to stand strong. He wasn't afraid, not of Haku. Definitely not of Haku. "Gaara's just... different, is all."

"Wow, you can't even describe him, he's so _perfect_?" Haku deridingly asked, raising a brow. "I'm touched."

"He is! You've never even _spoken_ to him! At least I've talked to Zabuza," Sasuke remarked. "Zabuza's like the living dead. His words are so... _hollow_."

"I've heard Gaara talk before. He's rude, that's what I can sum up from him," Haku said in reply. "And he walks as if he's the most awesome being to have ever touched the earth. Though, you apparently don't disagree with that reasoning."

"Oh shut up. I don't think that."

Haku fake-gasped. "Oh, that's right! Of _course_, how could I have been so blind! I forgot that _you_ are the immaculate Golden Boy of the universe. Gosh, what has gotten _into_ me?" He jabbed Sasuke in the chest with a finger, releasing the boy's wrists. "Oh yeah, YOU."

"I already told you! We didn't _do_ anything!" Sasuke knocked Haku's accusing hand away, offended that he would actually bring that back up again. "Why do you keep bringing that back up? You asked if I really didn't hate you, but it seems like you're the one who hates me." It was only then that Haku noticed what looked like hidden hurt in Sasuke's somber eyes. "I've said I'm sorry over and over again... I hate apologizing. Especially over something that seems so utterly ridiculous."

"You're right." Sasuke blinked in confusion, as Haku lightly brought a hand up to his roommate's face. His palm touched the side of Sasuke's face with warmth, the pad of his thumb brushing against Sasuke's cheekbone. "Perhaps the one thing you _do_ have in common with Zabuza-san." Haku smiled, a reflective gaze in his eyes. "You both hate to admit you'd done something wrong..."

Time seemed to slow, as Haku's hand left his face and his arms instead pulled themselves around Sasuke. Gripping at the back of Sasuke's shirt, Haku brought his head against the other boy's neck, closing his eyes with the contact. Sasuke could feel the flutter of Haku's lashes against him, but couldn't find the will to move. He felt Haku's warm breath on his neck, and shut his eyes in the odd elation it wrought.

_So familiar..._

"I couldn't hate you if I tried," Haku whispered, his lips brushing against smooth skin, "... Sasuke."

"Nn..." Sasuke's hands soon found themselves traveling up Haku's back, reaching under the boy's white shirt slowly. Haku barely shuddered at the contact going up his spine and looked at Sasuke pleadingly. The Uchiha took this chance to touch Haku's lips with his own, as if asking for permission this time. What he heard wasn't what he'd been expecting though.

"No, Sasuke." The spiky-haired teen tried again, thinking he heard wrong. "Stop." He quickly realized he hadn't, however, as Haku turned his head away.

"What?"

"Don't ruin this," Haku stated quietly, glancing back at the other male with a drained look. "We're having a moment. Don't ruin it."

"Ruin? But I thought..." he trailed off, finding Haku's eyes welling up with tears again.

"Please. Or I couldn't say goodbye." Haku laid his head against Sasuke's shoulder again. "Let's just stand like this... if only for a while."

Sasuke complied silently. He could distinctly feel the tears soak through his shirt, brief as the saddened display was. And so they stood, Haku wrapped around Sasuke, whose arms now hung limply at his sides. It lasted for a good ten minutes. While the moment felt as though it could have easily lasted much, much longer, the digital clock on the dresser spoke otherwise.

-

"Why did you choose the one moment when those teachers were there?" Gaara questioned, curiously. "You could have easily taken Sasuke at any time. Especially since he was alone the rest of the week."

Itachi half-shrugged from his place on the couch. The two (plus Zabuza, but he was currently out doing something somewhere else, it hardly mattered to Itachi or Gaara) were living in a small apartment near where St. Ruto's was located. It was ridiculous. The police were searching for them, no they _had always_ been searching for them, and yet they couldn't figure out that the three were living so near to the main target. They had had several close calls before, but so far the three were able to get through their days without so much trouble.

The real question of the matter was, however, how these three came to be together. If there was anything they had in common, it was the fact that they were a small branch of a large group. A group that began as a small gang in a city, then grew to gigantic proportions, rivaling many others that tried to be similar to them. While most members were quite willing, others were half-forced. And then there were the ones who joined during a stupider time in their lives.

Itachi was that last option. Even Sasuke couldn't deny his brother was a bloody genius. But there was a time where being the best at everything put a stranglehold on Itachi's freedom. On what _he_ wanted to do, not what his family thought he should. Truthfully, Itachi had always wanted to just be alone when he was younger. Whenever he found the perfect chance for silence, it would be broken by something 'more important,' or his parents. Or his little brother.

Of course, he probably minded the latter the least. Sasuke... he used to be so bright and cute. He'd smile and say, "That's so awesome, Aniki! Can you teach me how to do that one day?" and Itachi would just smile back and reply, "Maybe."

_Maybe._ Itachi's eyes were fixed on the TV, though he wasn't watching what was on the screen. If he hadn't wanted it so much... maybe Sasuke wouldn't hate him. But it was such a burden to keep up. To pretend he could be their doll, their perfect son. And Sasuke had been the only one to notice how much it troubled him.

And now what? Sasuke wanted him to die. Itachi had sent Gaara to Sasuke three years earlier, under the guise of other reasons, to perhaps coax Sasuke back into not hating him so much. When Gaara finally returned, Itachi found that all his stunt had done was make Sasuke despise him even more, and Gaara... well, Gaara certainly wasn't quite the same.

It was a bit too late to regret doing anything now, though. Unless Gaara or Zabuza turn out to be necromancers, there was no way Itachi could bring back his parents. Of course, even if he could would either of them forgive him? Sasuke would probably run screaming in terror, too...

But now Itachi was just thinking too literally. Suppressing the urge to shake his head of these thoughts, knowing it would more than likely cause Gaara to glare at him oddly, Itachi instead went for closing his eyes peacefully. He could still see his little brother's utter expression of shock when he caught his 'Aniki' in the moment of murder. The fear that had paralyzed him, forcing him to continue to watch as Itachi had slid their mother off of the knife. The sheer disbelief as they locked eyes, several years' worth of memories slipping away under this one act of desperation.

Was it worth it?

--

_Finally, alone.__ Itachi sat against the trunk of his favorite tree, his eyes closed in thoughtfulness, one arm across his lap while the other carelessly picked blades of grass. He knew someone would eventually come and ask for him to do something, but until then silence. Itachi could feel his lips twitch upwards in a rare smile. He used to smile all the time, but now it wasn't so often. Nowadays, stress was the one thing etching at him._

_He hoped the summer day would erase it all. Maybe he could pretend he didn't know something, for once? And let it all go downhill from there? Perhaps... though it certainly would not suit him. And his father might give him that look again..._

_"Aniki!"__ Itachi turned his head at the voice, tiredly. Sasuke came bounding up to him, grinning madly as if he knew a secret. Little brothers always liked to think they were so clever when it came to surprises, it seemed._

_"Hn, Sasuke?" Itachi asked once the younger boy fell to his knees beside him. Sasuke held out his hands, which Itachi noticed seemed to be holding something within them._

_"Look, it's so hairy," Sasuke murmured, revealing the hidden creature in his grasp. A caterpillar, the long fur on it white with smaller grey hairs in between was crawling around in his cupped hands. "Isn't it?"_

_Itachi__ couldn't help but notice himself grinning along with his brother. "Yes." But then another thought struck him just as quickly, as he added with a stern tone, "Put that down."_

_Sasuke immediately did the opposite and brought the caterpillar closer to his body, looking up at his brother in confusion. "Why? It's not hurting m—"_

_"Put it down," Itachi said again, before being answered with a look of defiance from the younger Uchiha. "It might be poisonous."_

_"No," Sasuke said, firmly. Itachi had reason to believe that Sasuke was arguing just for the sake of arguing._

_"Sasuke..." His words were laced with warning for his little brother. "For all you know, it could be laying its eggs in your hands right now. And then, when you wake up, you'll start to itch because its larvae are crawling around inside your body," Itachi lied, going for the scare tactic. _

_It worked, as Sasuke flinched and tossed the hairy worm behind him. The thing landed harmlessly on soft dirt before crawling away to safety. Itachi nearly congratulated himself, until he saw that his ploy worked too well. _

_"Aniki!"__ Sasuke moaned, grabbing onto his brother. "I'm gonna die...!" He stifled any further wailing with Itachi's shirt, the elder sibling just as quickly feeling guilty._

_"N-no, I was kidding. Really, Sasuke, you aren't going to die!" He looked around warily, hoping their parents wouldn't hear. "Stop crying, I was kidding. Sasuke!"_

_"No, you weren't!" Sasuke glared up at him crossly, with dewy eyes._

_"I was, I was!"_

_Pouting, the smaller boy pushed away and turned in the opposite direction, away from Itachi. "Why?"_

_"You wouldn't listen to me," Itachi explained, Sasuke looking back at him with a disbelieving frown. "Besides, caterpillars are only babies, themselves. They couldn't lay eggs anywhere if they wanted to." Sasuke still refused to turn back around fully._

_"Hn," Itachi sighed. "Won't you forgive me?" Quiet followed, but Itachi could see that Sasuke seemed to be considering something._

_"Fine," he finally said, whirling around to face his older brother with his grin from earlier. "But only if you..." he paused to mull over a 'consequence' for Itachi, "... only if you get me ice cream."_

_"Itachi smirked. "Good, because I was going to do that anyway." He stood gracefully, Sasuke following the action while also trying to mimic Itachi in the same cool fashion._

_"Don't forget!" Sasuke chided, after having to catch his balance on his brother from his failed attempt at mimicking. He gave Itachi an appraising look. "Or I'll never forgive you."_

_"Fine."__ His hand found Sasuke's and they clasped immediately with the contact._

_"Aniki..." Sasuke barely said, and Itachi glanced down to find the boy staring at the grass._

_"Hm?"_

_Sasuke looked up and smiled. "I love you, Aniki."_

_"Yeah... I know."_

_-- _

"Itachi." The voice trailed into his mind, but was ignored for the most part as Itachi turned over in his place. Gaara's glare narrowed at his being ignored. "Get _up_." His tone turned as sharp as a knife as he resisted the urge to juct kick the older Uchiha off.

Just a few minutes before, Gaara had sat down on the couch indifferently, only to have Itachi's sleeping form slump over against him. If Gaara had been anyone else, this would've registered an insane, full-force, blushing attack. However, being who he was, Gaara chose to disregard Itachi's contact... that was, until the older male was soon found practically lounging across Gaara's lap.

"Dammit, get up," he angrily demanded again, willing himself not to show anything other than loathing. Itachi finally stirred, much to his still-guarded relief. Blinking his eyes open, Itachi looked up at the irate redhead whose personal space he was invading.

"Hn..." Itachi groaned as he sat up, though now he encircled one arm around Gaara, if only to merely irk the boy further.

"Gaara-kun..." he mockingly crooned, his face now dangerously close to the annoyed boy's own. "I know I almost mirror Sasuke, but did you really get embarrassed?"

"No, and shut up." At this sign of Gaara's obvious displeasure, Itachi's sadistic smile seemed to widen.

"You know... in all these three years since what 'supposedly' happened between you and my brother, you've never told me something," Itachi said, Gaara's glare now shooting invisible, poison-tipped daggers at the mention.

"Told you _what_?" This was more of a warning than a question, as if he was just _daring_ Itachi to continue.

Itachi did. "So... how many times _did_ you bang him?"

--

_The soft sound of the paper against his fingers resounded as he turned the page, thoroughly engrossed in the words that lay before him in the paperback he held. He _was_ the one currently traversing across a desert to find the one he loved, not Uchiha Itachi who was actually sitting below his favorite tree once more. The sky was beginning to reflect orange rays on the pages, slowly counting down until the sun would completely disappear. Still, Itachi did not notice. He was still walking through thick sand in his mind, trudging forward despite the yellow grains zipping past his face in the desert wind. This image was broken only when a voice came clearly above his head._

_"Aniki!"__ Snapped from the distant, imagined world in surprise, Itachi looked up dazedly at his sibling. The boy stared back down anxiously. "Aniki..." he repeated, when he finally got Itachi's attention._

_"What?" His eyes narrowed, as his mind became clearer after its travels through page upon page. "And what are you doing up there?"_

_Sasuke gave him an awkward smile. "Um... I climbed." He blinked, as the look on Itachi's face clearly stated, 'Obviously.'_

_"So what do you want me to do about it?" Itachi nearly turned back around to get back to reading when Sasuke made him turn around again._

_"Help me..." Sasuke barely said, as if ashamed to ask his older brother for help. Itachi glared back up at him. The younger boy was in one of those weird phases where he liked to do the most insane, stupid things just to prove he could do it without his brother's help, and now he was, obviously, stuck._

_"Help yourself," Itachi brushed him off, Sasuke staring at him wide-eyed in surprise. "Mom told you not to climb trees anymore, especially after what happened _last_ time, and now look!"_

_"No, get me down!" Sasuke began sounding a tad panicked, before adding in a warning tone, "Do it or... or I'll jump down."_

_Itachi__ instantly gave him a look that said, 'I _dare_ you.' He knew Sasuke wouldn't. The kid acted tough, but when it all came down to it—_

_"Sasuke, no!"__ He stood only to land back on the ground just as quickly, only with a kid sprawled across his chest._

_"A-aniki...?" Sasuke looked down at Itachi almost apologetically, seeing the elder Uchiha lying motionless beneath him. "Are you okay?" He crawled off his sibling, expecting a death threat soon after, but nothing came. Something seemed wrong with this... this stillness. He nudged the boy's chest with a hand. "Aniki? Wake up..." He tapped Itachi's chest a few more times, before becoming fully frantic. "Aniki!" Wrapping his arms around his brother's neck, Sasuke pulled him up, withholding any urge to sob into Itachi's hair._

_"Aniki, don't die! Please don't be dead!" he cried, shaking his unmoving brother. "Please! I'm sorry; I won't climb any more trees!" He held Itachi's face close against his, the soft wisps of dark hair soon entangled in his fingers. But then a soft caress of lips against his cheek quickly stopped the sobbing._

_"You promise?"_

_Surprised, Sasuke's arms gave out on him and Itachi as the latter found his head contacting with the grass once more. Sasuke blinked in confusion, speechless as his brother stared back up at him with a glare._

_"Oh... s-sorry," Sasuke quickly said, before realizing what had just happened. "Wait... hey, you were pretending to be dead! And... and you _kissed_ me!" He scooted away from Itachi at those words, as the older boy looked back at him in slight amusement._

_"I know, aren't I great?" Itachi grinned, sitting up before rubbing at the back of his head to clear away the grass and leaves._

_"No, you're sick!" Sasuke replied, angrily. It hadn't been the first time Itachi had snuck one of those gestures on him, but it _had_ been a long time since the last one. Sasuke was more than too old for _that_, surely! "Brothers don't kiss, only girls do."_

_One of Itachi's eyebrows rose with that statement, aware that his brother's words were running on nothing but what the boy thought to be manliness and masculinity. "Hm. I suppose you're right." An odd smile overcame his features, as his eyes looked upwards toward the purple streaked sky. The smile quickly faded, however, as another expression took over, his words echoing its hollowness. "I _am_ sick."_

_"Aniki..." Sasuke had a strange feeling of disconcertment. "Um... I don't mind. You can kiss me all you want." Itachi turned on him with a narrowed stare, causing him to add, "As long as no one sees."_

_"Oh... _really_...?" Sasuke recoiled at that tone. He knew what was coming, but nodded anyway, hoping to maybe be spared from the impending attack. Itachi smirked. "As in... even now?" A hand quickly reached around Sasuke's neck as he pulled the younger boy close, his lips stopping just short of Sasuke's forehead. He could feel his brother flinch in the close contact._

_"Sasuke."_

_The youngest Uchiha peeked up. "Hn?" A soft brush of skin against skin occurred once more, only it was between both boys' lips this time. Sasuke's eyes widened considerably. "An...iki...!"_

_Itachi__ didn't even grin. He merely stood, leaving his startled brother sitting on the grass, and retrieved his book from a few feet away. Apparently, he'd thrown it aside carelessly when Sasuke jumped from the tree, and a couple pages were now bent. Ignoring this, Itachi turned back to the very surprised little Uchiha still planted on the ground. He opened his mouth to say something when their mother's voice echoed from the house._

_"Sasuke!__ Itachi! It's dark, come home!" Itachi sighed as Sasuke slowly stood and followed behind him._

_"Sasuke," he said, to get the child's attention._

_"...yes?"_

_"Don't tell anyone."_

_"...okay."_

_-- _

Sasuke bolted upright, his black hair plastered to his head in sweat. It was almost winter, and he was burning hot. The newly risen sun seeped in under the curtains, as Sasuke clenched his hands around the edges of his soaked blankets.

"...dammit!" he cursed, slamming the bed with both hands.

The washroom door opened at that moment, revealing a shirtless Haku with a pair of blue, snowflake-print boxers on, towel-drying his long hair. The X-shaped scar across his chest was colored silver against his pale skin, as Haku looked at Sasuke in curiosity.

"Are you the only person who wakes up cursing?" he questioned, ignoring the glare he gained in reply. Haku smirked. "So... what does your 'aniki' look like?"

Sasuke looked away, appearing to have found the chair in the corner of the room to be suddenly interesting. Haku blinked.

"Was it... er, Itachi, I think his name was?" he tried again, rephrasing his question. Sasuke nodded this time, vaguely remembering his last encounter with his older brother, back at the hospital over a week before.

It happened nearly every night, even before the meeting with Itachi; Sasuke would have odd memories of him and his brother, ones that he used to have considered maybe... _happy_ memories. Now that he thought of them, some made him sick. He could barely believe there was a time before when he would've actually _cried_ if Itachi had died.

"He's part of Zabuza-san's group... isn't he?" Haku finally asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke paused, before looking back up at Haku. "You're leaving today, aren't you?" The other boy nodded in reply, his expression turning somber at the mention. Haku sat down beside Sasuke on the Uchiha's bed, Sasuke tempted to shrink away from the half-dressed male. Drops of water trickled down the ends of Haku's hair, soaking into the white blankets as quickly as they'd fallen.

"Hey..." Sasuke glared at Haku suspiciously. A familiar, almost-flowery scent seemed to be drifting from Haku's hair. "... _you_ used _my_ shampoo."

The other teen grinned, apologetically. "Sorry. I packed everything last night and I knew I'd forget something if I put it out of place... so I just used your stuff."

"Tch." Sasuke turned away, glaring at the wall as if he cared whether or not Haku used his shampoo.

Haku rolled his eyes before standing, walking to the folded clothes on his dresser. "You're such a melodramatic little boy," he said, shooting Sasuke an unresponsive smirk as the Uchiha stared heatedly at him with a passion. "I'm glad I won't be here to watch _Ribbon Heart_. You'll probably make the poor girl playing the opposite cry."

"You didn't cry."

"That, Uchiha-kun, is because I am not a weak-hearted girl vying for your undying attention," Haku answered. Sasuke shrugged, a fleeting break in his stoic attitude appearing.

"Could have fooled me." Now it was Haku's turn to glare, as the ends of Sasuke's lips twitched upwards at the reaction. And then the glaring disappeared, as Haku found his own response with a sly look.

"Perhaps, save for the fact I already _have_ your undying attention."

"Touché." Haku grinned at the remark, as Sasuke stared nonchalantly at him. Before long, Haku was wearing one of the non-school outfits he'd brought. There _were_ weekends, after all, so he had known he would have to get things for then. Sasuke eyed him warily, however, as Haku proceeded to brushing his hair.

"Are those... chick pants?" Sasuke asked, rather curtly. Haku nodded, ignoring the term he'd used. There was quite a long pause before Sasuke added, "How do you get into them!"

Haku looked at him with a raised brow. "It's... not that hard..." he replied slowly, as if Sasuke was slow on the uptake. "They're just pants."

"Yeah but..." he stopped, realizing it was futile to argue such a matter with _Haku_, of all people. "You know what? Never mind."

The cross-dressing boy then tossed his brush into his bag, zipping it up carelessly. "If that's it then... I suppose I'll leave now." Sasuke looked up at him from his spot on his bed, knowing better than to ask the question he'd been asking all week.

_"Why are you leaving?"_

Same question, same answer, after all. Haku pulled his bag up, carrying it to the door, before stopping.

"... so, one last hug, maybe?" he asked, Sasuke pretending to not really care as he grudgingly slipped out from under his covers, crossing the room to Haku. They didn't touch when he got there, though. Just stared.

Sasuke could see himself reflected in Haku's dark eyes, and something nudged at him from inside, saying he didn't want to see the male before him leave. He had ignored that prodding emotion inside for a long time now, but at the moment, it seemed to stab at him harder with each passing second. Was he really going to miss Haku? Or was this just something else entirely...?

"Wait..." Sasuke finally said, backing away slowly. Haku watched him, nonplussed. "Wait right there." He turned and walked to his dresser-drawers, opening the last one swiftly. Sasuke sifted through the contents until he came upon a dark blue box, opening the thing as soon as he touched it. Haku saw a thick strand of silver be pulled out of the container, Sasuke cupping it before replacing the box and closing the drawer.

"What...?"

"Wear this," Sasuke stated simply, returning with the chain in hand.

"Why?" Haku stared at the simple chain inquiringly, wondering the odd demand. "There's nothing on it."

"Wait a second." At these words, Sasuke unclasped the chain, before slipping something onto it. He reached around Haku's neck with the chain and object before the cross-dresser could even see what the mystery item was. But as soon as the Uchiha pulled away, he saw the line of blue and white flashes echoing the low morning light from the window so far away.

"Ah... but this is..." he looked up at Sasuke to confirm his suspicions. Sasuke nodded, not meeting his eyes. One of Haku's hands pulled itself around the silver ring, to further answer his question. It was. Sasuke was giving him his ring.

"But... why?" Haku asked, looking up at Sasuke at an angle in an attempt to lock eyes with him. It didn't work, however, as Sasuke turned away.

"Just keep it. I don't need it, and...," he hesitated, turning around completely while crossing his arms defensively, "... maybe now you won't forget me."

Haku felt something strange creep itself up his spine, and he shivered. "Sasuke..."

"Whatever. Go, before tackle you and chain you to the bed," Sasuke murmured, Haku nodding and opening the door behind him.

"Thank you, Sasuke." As the door quietly closed itself, Sasuke looked back around at where Haku had been standing. A scary sense of nostalgia drifted over him as he stared at the shut door, half-expecting Haku to burst back in with some random, witty remark about how stupid Sasuke was to believe he'd leave. But, the door remained closed. Even when several minutes passed, nothing changed. And that was when the nostalgia was replaced with an unsettling cold.

_He's gone..._

_- _

After notes: There were some weird fluffy scenes between these two, ne? Myeh... I still don't think Sasuke is right, but if you guys like him (or are just used to his weirdness! XDD), I won't suddenly change him. However, for the prequel, he SHOULD be a lot more normal. Why? Well... the main reason why he's so weird here is because of Gaara... and well, you'll see what I mean when I write the prequel. As far as sequels go... I doubt there will be one. In fact, there will probably not be one. u.u;; I'm sorry, I just don't know how that would go about. Sheesh... there would probably be a lot of snogging but... eh... I'm already doing a LOT of snogging scenes in the Gaara X Sasuke one so... will you be happy then?

**Review**, whether you liked it or not. Tell me the ups and downs! I want to know! xD


	13. Barbed Fences

Info: This chapter is not only shorter than what I'd have hoped to have made it, but also quite late. _Quite_ late. I'm terribly sorry, but I've been so preoccupied lately! Ack... I can't even write out a complete apology... u.u; Ho-hum. Well, if it boosts your spirits, I've written the first couple chapters for I Only Love Myself, the prequel to this story. –punches air dramatically- Huzzah! And, um... I'm sorry, again. –snivel- Could you ever find it in your hearts to forgive me? Merr... –sobs in the corner-

**Warnings**: Nothing much. Hmm... some Haku and Zabuza touches, nothing too big. Oh, and questionable themes over the two Uchiha brothers. Awk. O.o; What is my problem? Sasuke was so little... –shame shame-

Disclaimer- This one does not own Naruto. Speaking of which, has anyone read the most recent manga chapters? Oh, MAN, is Naruto some hot stuff. XD And what about Neji? –purr- Can't wait to see Sasuke...! –dance-

* * *

**Chapter 13** – Barbed Fences

* * *

A cold breeze caressed his cheek, passing him as he walked. Haku unconsciously replaced the misplaced strands of his dark hair back in place behind his ear, keeping eyes forward.

_If I look back, I might turn around._

Haku was headed back to the bus stop where he and Sasuke first met. The thing left at two... it was still noon. Plenty of time. Why couldn't he have just left later?

_If I look back..._

And the day was breezy. Damn.

_As soon as I get home, I'm cutting my hair,_ he thought with a huff, finally reaching his lonely destination. Back then... when was it? Only a few weeks ago? At the most, a month. Yes, that must be it. It had been a month since he'd first seen the Uchiha. A scowling boy, the last thing Haku would have thought to find at an all-girl's school. He smiled just remembering how confused he must have looked when Sasuke introduced himself.

_"But, you're a guy...! Er, I think... sorry if you're not..."_

_"I'm not going to rape you, if that's what you're afraid of."_

"Liar," Haku dispassionately whispered as he sat down on the icy, metal bench beside the sign. He smiled soon after. "Sasuke." The name was so familiar now, whereas before it felt like it still had to be learned to be remembered. And now it would be forgotten. Perhaps a year, two years at most? No, Haku was never quite _that_ lucky.

"Uchiha-kun..."

* * *

"Naruto... why do we get so attached to people?" Sasuke's voice echoed his empty room, the silence colder than when he'd last encountered it over a month before. One hand held the silver cell phone close to his ear, Sasuke laying on Haku's bed because it was closer to the window (better reception this way).

"Blergh... I don't _know_. It's early, why are you calling me? You... rawr...," Naruto's sleepy tone drawled out of the phone.

Sasuke hardly looked surprised at the statement. "It's noon."

"Same thing... and where have you been?" The dreary voice began to regain full consciousness, as Naruto waited for the answer.

"Hospital."

"What? Why?" Now he sounded fully awake, Sasuke mused. "What happened to you? Oh, by the way, I met Haku. Yeah, he's nice. Why'dya hate him so much?"

Usual Naruto conversation lapses. Sasuke glanced skyward. "I don't hate him. And he and I were... in an accident." Not exactly a lie. And he included Haku in there rather than 'forgetting' to mention him. Double the points.

"Really? When? I just saw him last Friday! Geez... what'd you do!"

"Not me. Someone else... whatever, it doesn't matter."

"Tch, fine. Be a silent bastard. That's Sakura's favorite kind of guy anyway. At least she'll be happy." He could practically hear Naruto rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, dobe."

"You could have called... Maybe tell me why I've been left alone for a whole bloody week!"

"Whatever." Sasuke's gaze trailed to the clear window, the midday sun right in the center of the sky.

"Come over today, bastard. Maybe then I'll forgive you."

Sasuke made a sound at Naruto actually forgiving him for anything. "You still haven't forgiven me for looking at you the wrong way back in third grade."

"You got that right."

A pause. "Hn... I don't think I can make it today."

"Awk! Why not!" A short rant of how much Sasuke sucked at life followed, mostly ignored on the recipient's part.

"I don't...—" Silence, as Naruto waited for the rest of the sentence.

"You don't...? What?"

"I'll get back to you later," was the quick response, followed by a dead line. Naruto glared at the phone before yelling, "FINE!" at it and throwing it somewhere in his room randomly, with a smack. A few moments passed before what he'd just done registered.

"Dammit!" the blonde cursed, looking ready to rip out his hair as he realized he'd regret tossing his phone later.

Meanwhile, back at Sasuke's dorm, the Uchiha was watching his window intently as his brother slipped in through the opening.

"You should really lock that," Itachi stated, glancing back at the windowpane before returning his full attention to the teen before him.

"Stop following me," was Sasuke's response, the spiky-haired male feeling the usual seething at the very sight of his older sibling.

A brief smirk graced Itachi's features before disappearing again. "Tell that to Zabuza. The poor fool doesn't know when he's obsessed."

"Where is he? If he hurts Haku, I'll..."

"Shh." He silenced his brother with a finger, the nail painted a dark purple. "Women are much too perceptive, you know. If you speak too loudly, they'll hear."

Sasuke pulled away sharply. "And that's good."

One of Itachi's fine brows rose, as he seemed to appraise his younger brother. "You're always so dour. It's a wonder why you're so popular among these girls."

_Of course, I'm no better..._ Itachi's mind instantly added onto that statement, much to his better judgment.

"You're a perverted freak," Sasuke spat, making his way across the room backwards, as far away from Itachi as he could get. "Don't think I'd forgotten what you were like back then, either."

He smirked, even if it did hint at slight melancholy. "And you killed them because they finally found out, huh?"

A glare formed in Itachi's red-rimmed eyes. "You don't know anything about what happened. Just because you saw it does not mean you understand." His arms crossed in front of his chest, as he looked down on his brother. "You're as naïve as ever, little brother."

"Hn." Sasuke made a sound of vexation. "Does that mean you still want to kiss me when no one's looking?"

"Shut your face," Itachi stated heatedly. "If I were you, I'd be worrying over whether or not my older brother was merely directing my attention away from more important matters."

"What...?" A fleeting look of realization crossed Sasuke's features, as Itachi mocked a look of regret.

"Oops. I suppose Zabuza-san wanted that to be a secret." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "Oh well. Better hope that Yukio still wants you after Zabuza's done with him." A smile made its way across Itachi's face, reflecting a bloody memory in the back of Sasuke's mind.

"Tch. If you're just trying to get me riled up, it's not working," said Sasuke, despite the gnawing feeling in the back of his mind that stated that perhaps this wasn't the case.

"Hm, too bad," Itachi grinned, despite his words, only further unnerving his younger brother. "You can't be fooled, huh? My, hasn't Sasuke become so _clever_ after all these years. Mom and Dad would be proud." The smirk on his face gained a faintly dour tint. Jealousy, perhaps?

Now that Sasuke thought about it, perhaps Itachi had merely been jealous all this time. Though that certainly wouldn't explain the close touches from before, maybe it did clarify the reason why Itachi used to always give him this look. He still did, as apparent from just a few seconds before. That look that so clearly stated, "Why you?"

_Why me?_ Sasuke wondered, as he glared against Itachi's oddly-colored eyes. _...is this why?_

He faintly remembered what'd he'd heard so long ago, upon reaching his house from school. Sasuke had thought Itachi had forgotten to get him, and so he had walked home by himself, only to find his father and his older brother arguing behind the front door. The words said... they were the precursor of the bloodbath that would happen next.

_"You let Sasuke do whatever he wants! Why can't I!"_

_"Sasuke is not an excuse, Itachi.__ He's still a child—_

_"And what am I?"_

"Is... is that why?" Sasuke finally said.

"Is what why?" questioned Itachi, though his face held a certain smugness. "Just _what_ have you realized, foolish little brother?"

_"You're the top student of the country! You want to keep that up, don't you?"_

_"I don't want that!"_

_"Then what _do_ you want, Itachi?"_

_"What I can't have..."_

"That's why you killed them!" Sasuke leapt forward at his brother, forcing Itachi against the wall harshly. "That's why you fucking killed them, you fucking bastard!"

Itachi held off his brother's hands by the wrists, gripping them so hard his purple-painted nails dug into the skin. His look had turned into a glare all too familiar to Sasuke; the younger Uchiha had performed that same glare many, many times before.

"Pray tell, brother," Itachi stated, "what the hell are you talking about, exactly?"

Sasuke fought harder against Itachi as he spoke, replying, "Just because you couldn't do what you wanted! Everyone has their problems... everyone! Yours are no more special than anyone else's...!"

"Tch, is that all?" Itachi's hold on Sasuke tightened painfully for the younger sibling. Still, Sasuke did not back off from his brother. "I know that. I'm supposed to be talented when it comes to know things, aren't I? Fool..."

"Then why? Why are they gone!"

Itachi smirked, thrusting Sasuke off of him, looking as though it wasn't such a great amount of effort in doing so. Sasuke hit the floor loudly, a sound sure to have been heard downstairs. "Because I was tired of them. And because I had to make a choice."

"Choice...?" Sasuke repeated weakly, suddenly finding himself unable to get up. He stared blankly up at the white ceiling, wanting more than anything for Itachi to disappear into walls like a bad dream.

"They said either you or our parents," Itachi said, hanging over Sasuke with his arms folded once more. "If I didn't choose, it would be both of you. And I didn't want to see you dead, Sasuke, so I did."

"What...? Who made you choose?"

"Akatsuki."

* * *

Haku gently turned the page of his paperback, only half as enthralled as he should've been by the book. The other half was much too busy think of other, more existent matters. He really had liked Sasuke, hadn't he? Not more so than Zabuza but... Haku had definitely learned to become fond of the Uchiha, despite all the trouble it seemed to have brought them both.

Hearing a sound coming down the sidewalk, Haku's heart felt like it sped up inside his chest. Who was he hoping it would be anyway? However, two voice other than anything familiar quickly quelled the fluttery feeling rising in him. Haku set his game face on, trying to look as involved in his reading as he could so as to not attract attention from the two strangers.

It worked, as a very small girl and her mother passed by him, though it hadn't made him invisible.

"That girl was pretty, Mommy," the child said, her pitch making it apparent that she was unafraid of whether or not Haku would hear. "And she was reading."

"She certainly was," the girl's mother replied, but in a much quieter tone.

"If _I_ read, will I be pretty, too?" the girl suddenly asked. Haku couldn't help but smile inwardly at the statement.

"You're already pretty, but reading wouldn't hurt," the woman answered, as their footsteps faded. "Now come on."

Haku looked up when the turned the corner of the sidewalk, catching the light pink of the young child's dress before it vanished. Taking a last look at the book in his hands, Haku abruptly stood and quickly followed after the girl and her mother.

"Excuse me," he said from behind them, the woman and her child turning at the sound of his steps behind them. Standing over the girl, Haku smiled softly. She was only about a third of his height.

"Here," he said, handing her the paperback in his hand, the small girl having to use two hands in order to hold it. "Do you know how to read yet?"

She shook her head in reply, her mother watching Haku in a perplexed state.

He patted the child's head. "Then make sure that's the first thing you read when you learn how."

"Th-thank you..." she said, having just remembered her manners at her mother's prodding.

Haku smiled, before turning back around. A new warmth was now fitted in his chest, simply shielding the icy fact that he was leaving this place. However, the smile on Haku's face drifted off as quickly as it appeared once he came back to the metal bench he'd been seated on mere moments before.

"That was kind of you," said Zabuza, lounged rather comfortably on the bench, as if he'd been waiting there the whole time.

Haku's expression stayed stoic as he replied, "Sure." Despite Zabuza's sudden appearance, Haku sat on the side opposite of where Zabuza was, determined to ignore the man.

"Don't be that way," came Zabuza's voice. When no answer was sounded, he continued, "You know the only reason why you came here was for me. And now I'm the reason, yet again, that you're leaving." Haku could hear the smirk in his voice. "So don't pretend like you hate me or anything. I know you don't."

"I do," Haku stated, cringing away when Zabuza's hand strayed to his shoulder.

"You don't," he repeated, playing nonchalantly with the ends of Haku's hair.

"I do. I hate you!" Haku restated, more persistently, knocking Zabuza's hand away. He glared at the man, warning him to try anything more. "I hate you so much!"

A minute of silence passed between them before Zabuza laughed. Haku's glare deepened, as he scooted further away from the one he was most fond of. He wanted so much to be near him, to tell him to stay with him like before but... Haku also wanted to know why Zabuza came so willingly to him again.

"You're hilarious, Haku," Zabuza finally said, watching Haku's movements with little wonder. He was quite predictable to the man, trying to seem hard-to-get. "But I'm not so easy to fool like that Uchiha boy."

Haku winced visibly at the sound of Sasuke's last name.

"Want to know a secret?" Zabuza questioned, quirking a brow. Haku didn't reply, though the wary look in his eyes was all Zabuza needed to go on. "It seems you and Gaara weren't the first fools to try and get into _Uchiha-kun_'s pants," he mocked the name he'd heard Haku call Sasuke. "No... it seems his brother wanted a piece of him too." Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "Isn't that nice to hear? Even his own brother is lusting after him. I guess I can't blame you then, huh, for falling under the kid's charms."

"Shut up!" Haku finally cried, standing. Zabuza followed suit, though in a more languid motion. The steam left Haku as Zabuza walked towards him, his words sounding more and more timid the less space there was between them. "You... you don't talk about Sasuke like that..."

"I can talk however I want." He ran a hand through Haku's hair again, before resting it on the teen's shoulder and bringing him closer. "...right, Haku?"

"..." Haku stalled replying, knowing what his answer would be. As much as he wanted to fight it, as much as Haku wanted to kick, scream, and bite... he couldn't. "R... right."

* * *

After notes: See? Sorry little chapter, huh? –sniffsob- I sort of just posted this to show you guys I'm still alive! u.u;;; Really, this is only about half of what was supposed to go up... murrr. If you're still interested in more, **_review_**. If not... ehhhh... –pout- I suppose I couldn't blame yah. 


	14. Brotherly Love?

Info: Awk, I hit over 100 page views. xDD I just realized that. I'm so happy! Thank you all! Oh, and I also was browsing through some of your profiles (because I lurve my reviewers so), and I noticed that Sabaku no Ai had this bloggeh and had recorded one of her bloggings (... is that a real word? o.o;) with the last update of All-Girl's Sasuke. xDD That made me chuckle warmly... I feel so luffed! –glompage on all ya'll- X3 Okay, I know this chapter took some time coming out, so you all better enjoy it! Rawr. I'm very sorry again... xDD It's not as long as it SHOULD be but oh vell. o.o; I'm a horrid updater. 

I'd also just like to say this: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY ITACHI-SAN!** xD

**Warnings**: W00t. Let's see... does OOC count as a warning? Because there's gonna be a sea of OOC in this chapter. Then again, I'd like to find a chapter of AGS where they AREN'T out of character... Ho hum! Enjoy it anyway. Oh yes, and maybe some more mentionings of Uchihacest? XDD

Disclaimer- I don't own _Naruto_ nor Itachi's birthday. o.o; I did COSPLAY as Itachi about two weeks ago or so though. xD I like to think I was a fairly GOOD Itachi, too! Though maybe not... –snivel- u.u;

**Chapter 14** – Brotherly Love?

* * *

What was going on? Why did Sasuke suddenly find himself unwilling to move? Inside he was screaming to kill Itachi, but at the same time, he didn't feel the need to move from his spot on the floor. He could've if he wanted to, but...

"Sasuke," said his brother, glaring down at him through red-rimmed eyes.

"Nn...?" Sasuke could only stare back at him dismally.

"Have you lost all will to live now?" Itachi asked, tapping Sasuke's shoulder with his foot. "Because you've realized it was either your death or our parents'?"

"No." Sasuke's eyes narrowed, as he sat up in defiance of Itachi's words. "Who is Akatsuki?" he asked as he stood, turning on Itachi before the older Uchiha could do anything more to him.

"Hn, none of your business," was the immediate reply.

"Tell me!" Sasuke resisted the urge to grab Itachi by the collar, not wanting to be thrust back onto the ground like a few moments before. "Tell me, dammit!"

Itachi folded his arms in front of his chest, looking thoroughly annoyed of his younger sibling. Perhaps the only reason why he put up with Sasuke was because of their history together. That and the fact Sasuke made the most endearing pout sometimes, but that was beside the point.

"Fine," Itachi stated, pretending to give in when he really just couldn't take this pointless banter any longer. "You remember those nights I said I was away studying at a friend's house?"

Sasuke nodded, numbly. Of course he remembered. He'd always thought of those 'study nights' as more ways for his older brother to blow him off and flick his head before walking away.

_Those flicks always hurt..._ he absentmindedly mused, having to consciously stop his hand from going up to rub the place on his forehead where his brother always hit him.

"Well, I wasn't studying," Itachi continued, unaware of the flashflood of memories that had pooled around Sasuke. "I was being recruited into Akatsuki." This snatched Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"What are they? Some kind of gang?" the younger Uchiha asked bitterly, his words gaining sharp edges.

"Hah!" Itachi smirked at his brother's expense. "A gang? Foolish little brother, do you honestly think that I, Uchiha Itachi, would join something as petty and pointless as a gang?"

Sasuke stayed silent, feeling no need to speak his answer aloud. He suddenly found Itachi's crimson glare even more tangible than before. And it was the first time in about ten years that Sasuke was aware of another one of his brother's emotions: disappointment.

_Does he really feel so strongly about Akatsuki...?_ Sasuke wondered, finding himself unable to return Itachi's heated glare with his own.

"It was... supposed to be my escape," Itachi finally said, softly. Sasuke looked back up. Itachi's face now held a certain stoic look familiar to Sasuke. He'd used it many, many times to get out of showing his own emotions, especially to Haku. "And now it's become my prison."

Why, all of a sudden, did Sasuke find his brother to be so much like him?

* * *

His hands were as cold as Haku remembered them. Not the cold of death, never, but much rather the icy feeling one felt inside from lack of caring. That painful frostbite that laced one's heart after so many years of emotionless living. When he was younger, Haku wanted so much to be the one that warmed his Zabuza-san's heart. So much... he wanted to be the only one the man saw.

It was so odd how these feelings came to be. Haku had been so lonely when he was young, foster families caring nothing for him. And then, suddenly, he was recognized by a complete stranger. Maybe not as a person, maybe not as anything. Haku never was quite sure why Zabuza had noticed him, but he had. Zabuza had no reason to do so, but he had seen Haku and even spoke to him.

_"What's your name?"_

The words had been spiked with frost, much unlike the dry, summer evening they'd first met. Haku had been afraid at first, wondering what this stranger wanted with him, why he wanted to talk to him. Since when had Yukio Haku been seen as someone one could have a talk with, especially at such a young age? But at the moment Haku replied, none of that mattered. All that did was the fact that when he answered Zabuza's question, the man had smiled.

_"... Haku..."_

Now that Haku remembered it, it wasn't really a smile at all. At least, not like the ones he'd seen Zabuza do later on. It was more of a twitch of the mouth, falsely made to appear friendly and kind to some unsuspecting creature. But as far as the then young Haku had been concerned, it was the most beautiful thing in the world. To have made someone remotely perked up enough to smile, even if it was all in falsehood, was the best feeling in the world.

And it warmed his chest from the inside out.

The fond memory quirked a small smile from the teen as he stood before Zabuza, the latter giving him a curious look.

"Hm?" The boy must've remembered something again. He was holding Haku by the shoulders, Haku looking to be staring into space rather than really paying attention.

_Still a daydreamer, even after all this time._

"Haku..." Zabuza murmured, catching the cross-dresser's attention. "Why did you continue to follow after me? Even after everything I did to push you away...?"

Haku's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn't been expecting a question like this. Nevertheless, his expression softened considerably as he replied, "Because... you are the most beautiful thing I've ever encountered. And I wanted to protect you... just like that night you protected me."

"I didn't do anything," Zabuza said, a faint memory tracing back to what Haku was talking about flashing in the back of his mind. "You came to _me_."

"Yes, but you didn't throw me away."

_

* * *

_

_Zabuza flipped through the fuzzy channels on the television. His small apartment, cracks quite visible on the faded, yellowing walls, was his current home. At least, for now. He went from town to town, city to city, never having found a place that suited him best. Perhaps it was better this way; he was a borderline criminal, after all. _

_The Akatsuki was pushing him to gain attention away from where they were, telling him to do something big so that they could get away in the sudden mess. He had been thinking of something along the lines of... oh, maybe a kidnapping? Release the poor kid back into the woods when he'd gotten far enough, and make his escape? Easy enough, and he wouldn't have to deal with all the trouble other crimes gave. He'd already found the perfect twerp to go along with him, so Zabuza would have no extra troubles like kicking and screaming as he got away._

_However, the Akatsuki were pressing more towards murder. Taking another's life shouldn't have been so big to Zabuza, and it wasn't. He just really wasn't in the mood for all that at the moment. There was also always the chance that he would get caught. Die for the Akatsuki? Zabuza didn't think so. He hadn't even joined out of choice; they merely gave him a reason for going against the law. At least, that was the Akatsuki's only use in Zabuza's cold, grey eyes._

_He sighed, staring emptily at the blurry screen a few feet away. Such boredom. Why was he still here again? Oh yes, the kid._

_The poor child... he'd first seen this pitiful thing on a swing set, rocking back and forth in loneliness. It had given him a cold twinge of nostalgia, Zabuza unsure as to where the memory had come from. He'd stared at the kid, waiting to catch the boy's attention. When he finally had, Zabuza had received a wave of wariness from the child, though that soon disappeared._

_Several days later, and the boy still came to that same spot at the same time._

_'What's up with his parents?' Zabuza would often wonder, but wouldn't ask._

_Every time they saw each other there, on that children's playground, Haku, as the boy was called, would greet Zabuza with a bright smile. And when he did so, Zabuza always had this odd feeling that that would be the first time that entire day Haku would smile. But who was he to bother over thoughts like that?_

_He switched off the television, finally, the static sound getting on his nerves. After a few moments sitting on the couch in silence and staring at the cracked and peeling off-white ceiling in boredom, Zabuza could feel his eyelids grow heavy. He leaned back, and just as he was about to give into his weary state-of-mind, there were innumerable small knocks at the door._

_Zabuza's__ head raised immediately, the first image flashing in his mind being policemen, but as he turned to look at the door in bemusement, he realized that couldn't be. Whoever was at the door seemed to still be attempting to knock its lights out; it had to have been someone else..._

_He stood and approached the door, slowly._

_"Who is it?" he said, harshly. The knocking abruptly stopped, and Zabuza wondered if the person was considering whether or not they'd gotten the wrong door. "Well...?"_

_"Zabuza-san...!" came the voice from the other side, its normally soft-spoken nature sounding curiously dappled in angst._

_"Hn?"__ The man quickly opened the door, recognizing Haku's voice instantly. He looked down at the child, Haku staring back up at him with wide eyes. "Haku? Why are you—"_

_Sooner than he could finish, Zabuza found himself embraced quite tightly by the boy._

_"... here?" he still uttered, before shutting the door once more in case anyone passed by. It would've done him no good if someone saw such a cute boy hugging a strange man in an apartment building's corridor._

_"Zabuza-san..." Haku murmured into Zabuza's shirt, completely ignoring the elder man's questions. "I found you..."_

_Zabuza looked off to the side, feeling slightly put off by the boy's sudden-found... 'graspiness'._

_Nonetheless, he pulled the boy over to the couch and propped him up on the cushion, kneeling down to Haku's eye level. Haku looked back with large, sopping eyes._

_"Now what... _exactly_... are you doing here?" Zabuza asked slowly, in such a tone that clearly (hopefully) told Haku that he'd better answer now, or never._

_"I hate them!" Haku replied quickly, Zabuza appearing a bit taken back with this odd statement._

_"Who?" he asked the obvious question._

_"Those... those people," the boy said dolefully, his tone much quieter then. "I have no one who regards me..."_

_"The people you live with?" Zabuza questioned, quirking a brow. "Your parents?"_

_Haku shook his head quickly. "They're not my parents!" he said, and Zabuza braced himself just in case Haku decided he wanted to fling himself at Zabuza again for another embrace._

_"I'm an orphan... I used to have people who thought I was precious, but not anymore," Haku stated quietly, and Zabuza wondered how such words could be coming from such a young boy._

_"I see." Zabuza found Haku avoiding any more eye contact, and decided it was better to not ask anymore. It wasn't that he cared; Zabuza didn't want more of a scene. And what if the boy broke down and started crying loudly? Despite how out of character that would be for Haku, when it came to emotions, children really couldn't keep a hold on theirs._

_"If you want to, I suppose you can stay here," Zabuza said, his voice low, as he stood up straight once more. "But when you return home tomorrow, don't tell 'those people' about this..."_

_"Alright..." Haku agreed._

_As Zabuza moved back to the front door, aiming to return its lock in its proper place, he heard Haku shifting off the couch. He turned to see where the boy had gone, only to find him standing right behind him, like a little ghost of a shadow._

_"Haku...?" Zabuza said. He looked down at the child, wondering what more he could possibly want with the man._

_"How about you?"__ Haku suddenly asked, the question coming out of absolutely nowhere._

_"What?"_

_"You know...," Haku blinked, obviously having expected Zabuza to know full-well what it was he spoke of. "Do you have anyone to whom you are precious?"_

_Zabuza sighed, slight exasperated. _

_"I don't suppose so..."_

_Just as suddenly as his question had popped out of nowhere, Haku smiled warmly. _

_"You're precious to me. How about that?"_

_An odd twinge of something unfamiliar pulled at Zabuza's chest._

_"Then... I suppose that's alright."

* * *

_

"How could I?" Zabuza asked, glancing off to the side. Was he embarrassed? Haku wondered, finding himself smiling in spite of the man. "People would have seen."

Weaving his hands behind Zabuza's neck, Haku brought himself as close to him as he could have ever wanted to, the contact feeling like such a nostalgic dream to his skin.

"You are... still... so precious to me," Haku said into Zabuza's neck, the elder of the two finally bringing his hands to rest around Haku's form.

"Even if this all may just be a lie, formulated to get you off your guard and ultimately kill you when you least expect it?" Zabuza asked, expecting some reaction opposite of what he ended up receiving.

"Yes," Haku replied, not moving an inch away. He looked up into Zabuza's eyes, the expression he held being one of such an odd state of bliss. Even Zabuza could see a slight confliction in the teen's emotions, his obviously better half telling him to run away, whilst the rest of him begged to stay for just a while longer.

"If you are going to kill me," Haku said, unblinkingly, "at least do it now, while I'm still the happiest fool on earth."

Zabuza shut his eyes, in an attempt to erase that Haku's smiling image from his mind, turning his head away.

"I'm not," he said.

* * *

"I'm sure you're aware of the name our parents always used to call me, hn?" Itachi said. Sasuke's brows furrowed in thought. What? Name?

"I was a _genius_," Itachi answered for him, Sasuke blinking at the term.

_That's right..._ They held his brother in such high regard, especially his father. More than once Sasuke was quite jealous of the way he spoke about Itachi, as if Sasuke, the younger brother, was obsolete in comparison. But... surely it hadn't been to such a degree as that...? Surely Father hadn't meant it like that.

"Now you're remembering, huh...?" Itachi asked, the tone in his voice sounding like it should've been coming from a circling predator. "That envious flash that would appear in your eyes whenever Father praised me for another one of my successes had always been noticed by no one, save for me."

Sasuke glared ahead at him.

"And let's see, what were those words you'd always wanted to hear...?" Itachi continued, mockingly thoughtful. "Oh yes, the thing Father always loved to say to me, but never said to you no matter what you did..."

"He told me it once!" Sasuke argued heatedly.

Itachi smirked, appearing to suddenly remember the words. "Ah, 'as expected from my child.' If that's so, then apparently you were only his child for a single moment. Too bad he died before you could prove yourself again."

Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't try to attack him from where he stood. He just stayed where he was, albeit his hands shaking in anger.

"Oh, what's _wrong_, little brother?" Itachi said, inching closer to the boy.

"Tell me... what did Akatsuki give you?" Sasuke finally said, his eyes facing straight forward, as if he were looking right through Itachi to the wall behind him.

Itachi appeared in thought for a moment, before replying, "Well, I got this lovely ring from them." He held up his right hand, showing off the silver object. Sasuke batted it away, turning to glare at him now.

"Answer me."

Itachi folded his arms, tilting his head. "They gave me nothing but the excuse to be rid of the life I once had."

"Why did you do it!"

"Being what I was allowed people to both love me and... hate me," Itachi said. "I knew I was eventually going to just be used to further everyone else's lives, while I stayed where I was. I was and am... a tool for others."

Sasuke's look softened. "... how?"

"Before, I was being used to bring our family, Uchiha, prestige. People looked at Father in high regard because of me," he stated. Sasuke faintly remembered his first school teacher doing something along those lines. "And now... well, now I kill whoever Akatsuki doesn't seem to like and take whoever they want."

"Take?" Sasuke looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean? Kidnapping?"

Itachi smirked. "No. You remember how Gaara just decided to 'disappear' from your life?" The smirk widened as realization dawned on Sasuke. "That was me."

* * *

After notes: Well, this chapter took place over the course of several months, beginning at my last update of AGS. O.o; Ergh. Suffice to say, I got tired of waiting (and I'm sure you all did too), so I quickly smacked myself into finishing it after drawing a cute picture of Gaara. XD Don't you wish I'd do that every time I have to finish a chapter? Oi, and I think this fic will end up running far long than I'd thought it would... o.o; It might even reach 20 chapters. GASP! Good for those people that like Haku in a skirt, bad for those people that don't like waiting for the chapters to pop up (ARGH!). XDD That's probably... all of you. I'll try to update faster now! I'm getting a laptop in two weeks for my birthday and it's main purpose is to promote my writing. X3 Huzzah. And I'm sorry I can't answer all your reviews! I'd just like to say thank you to the new and the old! n.n I lurve you all! And you help me write faster!

**So _REVIEW_! **And help me name mah new laptop! xD Because I'm silly and I like to name inanimate objects.


	15. Once Upon A Time

Info: Meep! It's not even that long! x.x; I'm so sorry, folks. LIFE has been occurring, and I think I've found a social life if that's what this is. Either way, thank you SO MUCH to ALL OF YOU whom reviewed! n.n I lub you all, shankyu SO much. Oh and I decided to name my lovely laptop Obito, fyi. :3 He's awesome and while I have been writing, it's mostly just been roleplays. xD;; Ackkk. Well, the update is here, now. So... no more mad. D: Here you go, and enjoy! –dances-

**Warnings**: ... I've actually been having quite a few warnings the past few chapters. o.O I need to stop with the fanservice or something. Er, anyway, some random Uchihacestual kisses, other boys kissing, and so on and so forth. All a very lovely game. Oh, and SOME violence, as poorly written as it was (I'd written all this over the whole course of the 6 months, soooo a lot of it sounds jumpy I guess... –hasn't even read over it much-).

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. o.o;; The end. –grin-

**Chapter 15 **– Once Upon A Time

-

He felt such warmth in his heart at that moment. Everything negative Zabuza had done to him in the past was smoothed over in this blue-white fire, leaving only the snowy memories he'd always held close. Haku was so utterly content.

"Zabuza-san," Haku said, his words muffling against Zabuza's shoulder. "This time... let me stay by your side. I don't want you to leave me again."

There was silence for a moment, before he received an answer. He felt Zabuza's hands travel up to his shoulders, tensely, before being pulled away from the older man. Haku looked up at Zabuza with wide eyes, fearful of what would be said next. Zabuza released his hold on Haku, taking a step back.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that..." Zabuza stated, his eyes forming into a hard glare. "... Gaara."

Haku blinked. _Gaara...?_

Zabuza turned slightly, allowing Haku to catch a glimpse of the redhead behind him. Haku automatically returned to Zabuza's side, looking around him to see what Gaara had been doing.

Gaara was just standing there, his image devoid of emotion. He seemed to be glaring straight through Zabuza, right at Haku. Haku's brows furrowed.

_Why is he looking at me like that?_

"I said I would take care of him, Gaara," Zabuza said, causing Haku to look up at him.

_Hunh...?_

"You were failing," Gaara instantly replied, not moving. And then he narrowed his black-rimmed eyes. "You were becoming _weak_."

Zabuza restrained himself from looking offended, despite how annoying it was to hear this kid call him "weak." _He's not one to talk, the brat. He was the one who wanted to get rid of Haku so badly, just so he could be the 'only' one in Uchiha's mind again._

"Let me do it. Go help Uchiha," Gaara said.

"Sasuke's brother?" Haku asked. Gaara's glare returned to him, this time joined by a bit softer look from Zabuza. "... what is he doing to Sasuke?"

"The kid'll be fine," Zabuza said, though that certainly didn't reassure him. "Itachi's not gonna kill him."

"No, he won't," Gaara stated, as if he were warning Itachi, despite the elder Uchiha not being there. "Now get out of my way. I'll get rid of this thing myself..." He approached the two, but Zabuza didn't move.

"Gaara..." Zabuza's tone was a subtle mix of warning and... was that pleading? "Haku's an innocent bystander. He's got nothing to do with Itachi's brother."

Haku breathed in sharply, but didn't show. Was Zabuza-san actually... defending him? But wasn't it always the other way around, with Haku's unrequited adoration and respect of the man? He'd always thought that he could be happy just being near him, doing what he wants, but... after hearing this, did it mean he wasn't alone in his feelings?

"Zabuza-san..."

A flash of annoyance and something else sparked in Gaara's otherwise emotionless eyes.

"He got too close. Besides... he knows about us. Thus, Sasuke's cross-dressing friend must die," Gaara justified.

"He won't tell anyone. I won't let him," Zabuza answered.

"That doesn't change the fact," Gaara said, closing the distance between them, "that he and Sasuke are–"

"Too close for your comfort?" Zabuza finished for him, only irritating the red-haired teen further. "I don't like it either–," a sudden but familiar warmth sparked within Haku, "–but, I can't kill the little Uchiha, so I won't. However..." He stepped forward, and would have been glaring face-to-face with Gaara, if they'd both been the same height.

Gaara looked up at him, the only emotions apparent on his face being vexation and impatience.

"If you lay a hand on Haku," Zabuza finally said, "I swear I won't hesitate to bring a ten times worse death to Uchiha-brat."

Gaara's eyes narrowed maliciously, but just as quickly, the corners of his lips curled up into a smile of sorts. It was then that Haku felt like he and Zabuza were not staring back at a red-haired teen with an insomnia problem.

It was then he felt as though Gaara would be his death.

-

"You?" Sasuke thought Gaara left him alone like everyone else did because he wanted to. Because... of him. Hearing this made all his old excuses of Gaara's leaving being against his will suddenly come back to life, reigniting an odd burning sensation that had been clinging to the inside of his ribcage for a long time.

"Well, not exactly," Itachi corrected, his eyes glimmering their strange shade of red before closing temporarily. "I was merely the messenger, giving Gaara-kun an offer he _couldn't_ refuse."

Sasuke gave his brother a wary look, almost unsure if he wanted to question that further.

"... what kind of offer?" he finally asked, swallowing. He soon found Itachi mere inches away from his face, his brother's all-too-familiar hands and fingers locked in Sasuke's hair, palms resting lightly against the sides of the young teen's face.

As if he didn't want to let go again. This lapse in Itachi's sarcastic manner that afternoon kept Sasuke frozen in place, unsure of what would happen next. He could only stare into his brother's curiously-colored eyes, unaware of everything else around. Itachi's breath was warm against his lips, and the thought of this made the younger Uchiha blush at the two boys' proximity.

"Sasuke," Itachi whispered, smirking slightly. Sasuke tried to focus his sight on something behind Itachi's head, not wanting to look at his older brother any longer.

"Sasuke, you realize...," he began again, pressing closer still to his sibling, "your life has been decided by the same choice twice, don't you?"

"Hn?" The Sasuke's eyes returned to his brother's, brows furrowing in question. "What does that m—!"

Sasuke's lips were silenced with Itachi's, and he froze once more. He felt cold all over, and he wanted to shake or pull away in protest, but he didn't want increased pressure from Itachi's hands on his upper arms. He didn't want any more closeness with the other Uchiha. He didn't want _him_. He wanted... he wanted...

Yet, despite the icy feeling spreading throughout his body, Sasuke could feel his face turn hot as Itachi finally moved slightly away from him. The older male's eyes were turned downwards, in... shame? What was that emotion spread across his brother's features, Sasuke could barely find himself wondering. In actuality, Itachi felt angry with himself for allowing his feelings to betray what it was he was supposed to be doing. Again.

He let the younger teen go and turned away, walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Sasuke could suddenly hear himself saying, unsure of who it was controlling him to do such things. "Where are you going?" Itachi looked back at him, a cold look having taken over his bloody stare.

"I hate him, I hope he's dead by now," he suddenly replied, Sasuke looking surprised at the sudden statement. "Yukio," Itachi clarified, before continuing, "But if he isn't, you can still find him where he should be waiting for his bus."

Sasuke stood where he was for a few moments, allowing the words to sink into his currently numb thought process. Was Itachi helping him, or was this another ruse?

Itachi watched his younger brother for another second, before sighing and turning back around to leave. "If you've decided to abandon him, I'm fine with that, too," he stated, the front door now open wide.

With these words, Itachi felt himself pushed aside, albeit more lightly than he thought he would be, as Sasuke dashed through the dorm door before he could take a step. He watched his sibling run down the stairs on the other side of the dorm building's hallway, and felt slightly annoyed at how suddenly eager the teen was.

"... stupid Haku," Itachi murmured.

-

Sasuke began breathing heavily from his pace once he reached the outside of the dorm building, running out the double doors of its entrance. He sped down to the sidewalk, sneakers smacking the sidewalk in an almost abusive manner.

_Haku, I'll kill them. If they try anything, I swear..._

Even Gaara? Sasuke's steps faltered as this question rose in his mind, the voice sounding it not his own, rather belonging to Haku. He stared ahead, and knew that after this corner, he'd be able to see the bus stop where Haku was supposed to be waiting. Hopefully safe, or at least alive. He swallowed again, as Itachi's words of hate crossed his mind. It was only this time that he remembered their kiss, and took a short moment to run his forearm across his lips in defiance of such a thing ever happening.

As he turned the corner, the Uchiha could barely detect the yellow where the bus stop's sign should've been. But next to that yellow, he could see another vivid color. Either someone was bleeding profusely from their skull, or it was...

"Gaara," Sasuke breathed, tired from his run. He didn't want to move further, but he had to, or else...

-

Haku found himself pushed against the bus stop's bench, Zabuza's hand pulling away from his chest to grab the oncoming Gaara's fist.

"Gaara, I said I would—"

"You weren't doing _anything_," Gaara hissed, glaring up at him with sea-colored eyes. "Were you planning on running away with him?"

He ripped his hand away from Zabuza's grip, and kicked him in the chest swiftly. Zabuza made a sound as he was pushed backwards, never moved too far from Haku. He couldn't, at least not while Gaara could be closer.

"No," Zabuza flatly replied, catching Gaara's next punch and turning him around into both arms. Zabuza held the redhead tightly against his chest, keeping the teen's thin wrists securely together with one hand. "I'm not about to go and do that."

Gaara smirked as he looked up at the man, despite his current position. "I would, I would run as far as I could with Sasuke, if I had the chance," he answered, obviously not believing Zabuza's words.

The older male stared down at Gaara coarsely, before tightening his hold on the boy. Gaara barely winced at the increased pressure on his ribcage, despite it becoming harder for him to breathe.

"What? Do you plan to kill me just to protect him, now?" Gaara replied to this action, his voice lowered from the increased difficulty to speak.

"If I have to," Zabuza said, his eyes rising to where Haku was sitting, watching the actions unfold before him. Haku didn't move, just watched with wide eyes. And then another sound interrupted the goings on as everyone turned their attention to the intruder.

"Don't you... hurt him...," Sasuke breathed heavily, staring Zabuza down. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, the Uchiha shuddering with each breath he took.

"Sasuke!" Haku called to him, and he turned.

"Haku, you're alright?" he asked, going to the cross-dressing male's side. Haku nodded, smiling lightly before looking back at Zabuza and Gaara, a grim expression returning.

"Yes, Zabuza is trying to save me from Gaara," Haku answered, quietly. Sasuke blinked and just as he looked towards the two in question, something else happened in a flash.

Gaara pulled his hands free and elbowed Zabuza in the face, the man staggering backwards again, a hand over his face. Before he could go very far, Gaara had pulled something from his pocket and flung it open. Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognized the weapon.

"Gaara, no!" He started towards the redhead, a hand reaching to pull him back but Gaara disregarded the Uchiha's words as he stuck the pocket knife into Zabuza's chest, ripping it out as fast as it had made contact.

The man yelled at the sudden stab of pain, falling finally. Sasuke reached Gaara at that time and whirled him around to face him, glaring. His hands were clamped tightly on the shorter male's wrists, keeping Gaara in place.

"What are you doing, if you kill him you'll only be worse off!" Sasuke chided the other teen, Gaara's icy eyes staring back in their usual cold manner.

"First _him_," Gaara began pointedly, "and now someone you yourself tried to harm not so long ago? What has this _thing_ done to your state of mind?" Sasuke's face hardened at the second reference to Haku, personally taking offense.

"You shut up, you don't know a thing about me nor have you ever tried to," Sasuke replied, annoyed with all that was happening. "I've had a pissy day so far, and seeing you is just making it worse." Gaara's eyes widened, and the Uchiha could see he'd finally hurt the redhead in a way other than physically.

Gaara took a deep breath, his arms shaking slightly, as he shuddered and averted his gaze elsewhere. Sasuke barely regretted what he said, it didn't sound so bad when he replayed it in his head. The red-haired teen kept his eyes on the concrete below, his earlier demeanor suddenly out the window.

"... Gaara?" One of Sasuke's eyebrows rose in question. "Are you—" The boy in front of him suddenly smirked, and it was one of his more homicidal ones at that, the abrupt change cutting Sasuke off.

"I'm fine," Gaara breathed, his voice barely heard in the whisper. Sea green irises suddenly reappeared as the boys' gaze met, a tense emotion pulling behind the scenes. "I'm... fine." The teen's darkly shaded lids then covered his eyes, as he pulled Sasuke closer to him with just the spiky-haired male's hold on his wrists.

Haku stopped breathing when he saw their lips touch.

-

After notes: Okay, sooo I don't know when I'll have the next chapter out. Should be soon. o.O;; Wtf ever happened to me being all excited about the prequal? Blah! I still love the prequal, not sure if I can write it anymore though. 1) very sexy, and 2) I can't write sexy. .;;;; Seriously. Anyway, pleaseeee **_REVIEW_**, nonetheless. So I know if I should even write the next chapter, anyway. xD;; What's the point of writing if no one wants it, after all?


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